Commerzbank issues inaugural green bond for €500 million

Commitment to climate protection – Bank’s sustainability strategy reinforced
Inga Johal: “With our inaugural green bond we are sending an important signal about the growing significance of this asset class.”
Bond to be used for refinancing of renewable energy projects

Commerzbank has issued today its inaugural green bond in the capital market. The issue raised €500 million. The Bank will use the proceeds to refinance renewable energy projects. “With our inaugural green bond we are sending an important signal about the growing significance of this asset class. Also, we continue to enlarge and diversify our investor base”, said Inga Johal, Divisional Board Member Group Treasury at Commerzbank. “It also demonstrates our strong commitment to climate protection and reinforces the Bank's sustainability strategy.”

The non-preferred senior bond attracted keen investor interest. The final order book at re-offer was above €1.1 billion. The bond has a term of 5 years with an annual coupon of 1.25%. Commerzbank obtained its second party opinion from the renowned sustainability ratings agency Sustainalytics, which confirms that the bond complies with the latest Green Bond Principles.

Commerzbank already has a wide experience in the green bond market. “For years we have been successfully supporting our corporate clients to prepare their sustainable bond issues and place them in the international capital market. This year alone we have already acted as a Lead Manager on 17 green and social bond transactions”, commented Roman Schmidt, Divisional Board Member Corporate Finance. In issuing its inaugural green bond, the Bank is adding to its expertise in this fast-growing asset class.

The bond is structured in accordance with the Green Bond Principles. This market standard provides investors with a high degree of transparency as regards how the funds are actually used. Commerzbank has earmarked the bond proceeds for loans for onshore and offshore wind projects and solar projects in Germany, other European countries, and North and South America.

Commerzbank is committed to the objective set at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015 to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius versus pre-industrial levels. The associated energy revolution and reduction in CO2 emissions are creating a need for new technologies and products requiring large investments. Commerzbank is one of Germany’s top finance providers for the renewable energy sector, with a portfolio of around €5.2 billion as of December 2017.

About Commerzbank

Commerzbank is a leading international commercial bank with branches and offices in almost 50 countries. In the two business segments Private and Small Business Customers and Corporate Clients, the Bank offers a comprehensive portfolio of financial services which is precisely aligned to its clients’ needs. Commerzbank finances approximately 30% of Germany’s foreign trade and is the leading finance provider for corporate clients in Germany. Due to its in-depth sector know-how in the German economy, the Bank is a leading provider of capital market products. Its subsidiaries Comdirect in Germany and mBank in Poland are two of the world’s most innovative online banks. With approximately 1,000 branches, Commerzbank has one of the densest branch networks among German private banks. In total, Commerzbank serves more than 18 million private and small business customers, as well as more than 60,000 corporate clients, multinationals, financial service providers, and institutional clients. The Bank, which was founded in 1870, is represented at all the world’s major stock exchanges. In 2017, it generated gross revenues of €9.1 billion with approximately 49,300 employees.

Disclaimer

This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. In this release, these statements concern inter alia the expected future business of Commerzbank, efficiency gains and expected synergies, expected growth prospects and other opportunities for an increase in value of Commerzbank as well as expected future financial results, restructuring costs and other financial developments and information. These forward-looking statements are based on the management’s current plans, expectations, estimates and projections. They are subject to a number of assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from any future results and developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include the conditions in the financial markets in Germany, in Europe, in the USA and other regions from which Commerzbank derives a substantial portion of its revenues and in which Commerzbank holds a substantial portion of its assets, the development of asset prices and market volatility, especially due to the ongoing European debt crisis, potential defaults of borrowers or trading counterparties, the implementation of its strategic initiatives to improve its business model, the reliability of its risk management policies, procedures and methods, risks arising as a result of regulatory change and other risks. Forward-looking statements therefore speak only as of the date they are made. Commerzbank has no obligation to update or release any revisions to the forward-looking statements contained in this release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.