Access Bank floats N15bn Green Bond on Luxembourg Stock Exchange

Access Bank Plc has concluded a cross-border listing of its N15 billion green bond on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE), making it the first Nigerian commercial bank to attain that feat.

Green bonds refer to any bond instrument whose proceeds are used to finance or refinance climate and environmental projects.

Earlier listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and FMDQ Securities Exchange last year, the Access Bank bond is offered at 15.50% fixed rate with a tenor of 5 years.

Herbert Wigwe, Access Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, said the cross-border listing was executed to “make a material contribution to addressing climate change, and provide institutional investors with a means of accessing sustainable investments using a familiar, low-risk vehicle.”

Noting the offering’s significance to expanding issuers’ accessibility to target market, he said “the Bonds would deliver increased visibility for issuers, as cross-listing improves the green bond issuers’ access to a deep pool of green capital domestically and internationally.”

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The green bond aims to finance old and new existing loan facilities on the bank’s credit portfolio.

Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, Head of Sustainability at Access Bank stated that “Access Bank supports the global climate change mitigation and adaptation agenda which seeks to promote responsible green lending globally, across its banking network.”

According to him, “being a pioneer, both in domestic and international capital markets, Access Bank views the global drive for responsible and sustainable green financing as an opportunity for the Bank to raise capital for the creation of assets through climate financing.”

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) had last October brokered a deal with the LuxSE to speed up the expansion of the Green Finance industry in Nigeria, targeted at developing the Nigerian capital market via accumulation of foreign green fund.

Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX), where the bond is directly listed, is a unit of the LuxSE.

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