ICO launches its fourth green bond in the amount of 500 million euros to finance Spanish companies' sustainable projects

26 May 2022

  • 88% of the operation was placed with international accounts, reflecting investor confidence in ICO's role as a sustainable bond issuer.
  • ICO's green bond transactions to date have made it possible to finance 30 renewable energy and clean transport projects carried out by Spanish companies that will contribute to preventing the emission of more than 692,000 tonnes of CO2.

24 May 2022.- The Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) has launched its fourth green bond in the amount of 500 million euros, with the aim of financing Spanish companies’ sustainable projects that contribute to boosting the ecological transition in line with the objectives of the National Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

The operation closed today brings the volume of green bonds issued by ICO to 2 billion euros and strengthens its commitment to the development of the market for this type of transaction. Thanks to the funds raised in these operations, ICO has  so far promoted 30 renewable energy and clean transport projects by Spanish companies, which have mobilised an investment of approximately 13 billion euros and will prevent the emission of more than 692,000 tons of CO2 per year.

The issue was well received by the market, with a large participation of international accounts, among which 88% of the operation was distributed. Specifically, ICO's fourth green bond generated considerable interest among French investors, who bought 18% of the issue. Investors from Asia and Germany also participated actively in the operation, each acquiring 15% of the total volume launched.

The quality of the order book is also noteworthy, as 55% of the issue was placed with sustainable investors.

In the distribution by type of investor, fund managers accounted for 32% of the total volume of the issue, followed by insurance companies and pension funds (25%), banks (22%) and central banks and official institutions (21%).

These statistics show investor confidence in ICO's work, both in its role as a green bond issuer and in its activity as a national promotional bank financing projects that boost the ecological transition.

The order books were closed with a demand of over 1.1 billion euros, which allowed the spread over the Treasury benchmark at the same maturity to be adjusted to 9 basis points, reducing the spread initially set by 3 basis points. With a maturity of four and a half years, the operation, led by BBVA, Crédit Agricole, Santander and Société Générale, has a return of 1.32%.

The social bond issued today is part of ICO's strategy to contribute to the growth of the sustainable bond market, ensuring that funds are channelled to finance projects linked to social and environmental sustainability.

With this issue, ICO consolidates its position as a reference issuer in the European sustainable bond market, with twelve issues (8 social and 4 green) for an amount of 6,050 million euros, which are channelled to Spanish companies’ projects promoting sustainable growth.