UniCredit Bank Austria Issues €750 Million Green Covered Bond, Reinforcing Commitment to Sustainability

UniCredit Bank Austria Issues €750 Million Green Covered Bond, Reinforcing Commitment to Sustainability

(IN BRIEF) UniCredit Bank Austria has issued a Green Covered Bond worth €750 million with a maturity of nearly 5 years, following its sustainability strategy. This marks the third green bond issuance by the bank, with the bookbuilding process oversubscribed by over three times, reaching a total amount of just over €2.4 billion. The bond, issued under UniCredit Group’s Sustainability Bond Framework, has an Aaa rating from Moody’s and is aimed at institutional investors. The funds raised will finance or refinance green buildings within UniCredit Bank Austria’s mortgage cover pool that meet the sustainability criteria outlined in UniCredit’s Sustainability Bond Framework. UniCredit’s strong commitment to sustainability is evident through its continued focus on green financial products.

(PRESS RELEASE) VIENNA, 5-Jan-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — UniCredit Bank Austria has successfully placed another Green Covered Bond on the capital market, thereby continuing its sustainability strategy. UniCredit Bank Austria’s Green Covered Bond with a total volume of € 750 million and a maturity of almost 5 years was issued under UniCredit Group’s Sustainability Bond Framework. The bond is targeted at institutional investors. UniCredit Bank Austria has already placed its first green bond in the volume of € 500 million in May 2022, followed in February 2023 with the second green bond totalling € 750 million.

The bookbuilding process reached a total amount of just over 2,4 billion euros. The order book was therefore more than three times oversubscribed. The interest rate was set at 47 basis points above the euro mid-swap rate.

Robert Zadrazil, CEO of UniCredit Bank Austria: “By issuing this Green Covered Bond, we are again sending a clear signal of how central sustainability is to our corporate strategy. The commitment to the energy transition and sustainable business practices is bringing about a fundamental change in society and influencing every single area of our lives. As a bank, we have a central role to play in the transformation towards a decarbonized economy. Channelling the flow of funds into promising, climate-friendly industries, activities and initiatives is and will be the central joint challenge of the entire economy.”

Philipp Gamauf, CFO of UniCredit Bank Austria: “The issue of UniCredit Bank Austria’s third green bond, this time in the amount of € 750 million, was another success on the international capital market. We are very pleased about the demand, the Green Covered Bond was more than tree times oversubscribed. This issue shows how much international investors are convinced of UniCredit Bank Austria’s sustainable course and how high the continuing interest in sustainable financial products is.”

The green bond has an Aaa rating from Moodys and was issued to institutional investors. The investor base is composed of 126 investors, with 29 percent from Germany, 18 percent from Northern Europe/Scandinavia, 18 percent from Benelux, 16 percent from Austria, 8 percent from Great Britain/Ireland and the remainder well diversified across other countries and regions. The debt securities were distributed across different categories of institutional investors such as banks (49 percent), asset managers/funds (41 percent), central banks and official institutions (7 percent).

The bond proceeds are used for the financing or refinancing of green buildings that are registered in UniCredit Bank Austria’s mortgage cover pool and comply with the eligibility criteria set out in UniCredit’s Sustainability Bond Framework.

The issue underlines UniCredit’s strong commitment to sustainability and the importance of ESG (Environment / Social / Governance) for the Group. The issuance was made under UniCredit Group’s Sustainability Bond Framework, which allows UniCredit S.p.A., UniCredit Bank GmbH, UniCredit Bank Austria AG and all subsidiaries of the UniCredit Group to issue green, social and sustainable bonds as a recurring part of the UniCredit Group’s funding.

ABN AMRO Bank N.V., BayernLB, Erste Group Bank AG, J.P. Morgan SE, Natixis, Raiffeisen Bank International AG, TD Global Finance unlimited company und UniCredit Bank GmbH were mandated as Joint Lead Managers.

Media Contact:

Franziska Schenker
Tel.: +43 (0) 5 05 05-51417;
Email: franziska.schenker@unicreditgroup.at

SOURCE: UniCredit Bank Austria AG