ICO launches its third green bond to finance projects by Spanish companies to contribute to the ecological transition

14 June 2021

  • The operation has attracted demand for more than 2 billion euros and has been placed with the lowest spread ever recorded in an ICO public issue.
  • 63% of the issue has been placed among sustainable investors, reflecting investor confidence in ICO's financing of green projects.
  • The bonds have been extremely well received by international investors, who purchased 94% of the bonds.
  • ICO's previous two green bond issues in 2019 and 2020 made it possible to finance 22 renewable energy and clean transport projects carried out by Spanish companies that will help prevent the emission of more than 578,000 tonnes of CO2.
  • The transaction closed today is further evidence of ICO's commitment to the development of the sustainable bond market in which it has issued debt for a total amount of 5,050 million euros.

Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) has launched its third green bond, a €500m deal that will be used to finance Spanish companies¿ projects that contribute to the ecological transition in order to consolidate the recovery and promote sustainable economic growth in line with the key pillars of the National Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

This operation places the amount of green bonds issued by ICO to 1.5 billion. In compliance with ICO's commitment to transparency, the impact and allocation reports of the issues made in 2019 and 2020 have already been published. The 1 billion euros raised in these transactions have helped to mobilise more than 10 billion in public-private partnership financing for 22 renewable energy and clean transport projects carried out by Spanish companies, which will help prevent the emission of more than 578,000 tonnes of CO2.

The green bond issued today is a further step in ICO's strategy to contribute to the growth of the sustainable bond market through the issuance of at least one transaction each year, ensuring that funds are channelled to finance socially and environmentally sustainable projects.

The issue has gained a demand of more than 2 billion euros, making it possible to lower the spread initially set at 10 basis points over the Treasury benchmark with the same maturity to 6 basis points, the lowest spread achieved by ICO in its benchmark operations.

Also noteworthy is the quality of the order book with more than 100 investors. 94% of the bonds have been distributed among international accounts, with a notable presence of German accounts, which have acquired 21% of the issue, and French accounts, where 20% of the bonds have been placed. Investors from Asia and the Middle East have also participated actively in the operation, with 17% of the total.

63% of the bonds have been placed among sustainable investors, which once again shows how favourably ICO bonds are received by specialised investors and reinforces ICO's role as a benchmark issuer in this market.

Regarding the distribution by type of investor, it is worth noting the demand registered by asset managers, who have acquired 53% of the total volume of the issue, followed by central banks and official institutions with 30%, banks with 16% and insurance and pension funds with 1%.

With a term of six years, the operation, led by BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Santander and Unicredit, has a yield of -0.104%.

In accordance with the provisions of ICO's green bond framework - recently updated to cover new categories such as hydropower and green hydrogen - the funds raised with this operation will support Spanish companies' projects in the field of renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transport, pollution prevention and control and sustainable management of natural resources.

ICO has carried out ten sustainable bond issues (7 social and 3 green) for a total amount of 5,050 million euros, consolidating its position as one of the leading players in the European ESG market.