Československá obchodní banka, known as ČSOB, published its Green Bond Framework in May 2025, establishing the legal and procedural basis for the issuance of both unsecured and secured green bonds to fund eligible environmental projects in the Czech Republic. The framework is structured around four defined environmental categories and marks a significant step in the bank's effort to access the growing pool of ESG-labelled capital available in European fixed-income markets.
The framework covers Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Green Buildings and Clean Transportation as its four eligible categories. Projects meeting the criteria set out within each category will be eligible to receive proceeds from ČSOB green bond issuances. The bank has positioned the framework as a mechanism for directing financing toward the environmental transition of the Czech economy, where renewable energy development and the retrofitting of the building stock are both active priorities.
FRAMEWORK STRUCTURE AND CATEGORIES
The Renewable Energy category is expected to be central to ČSOB's green finance ambitions in the near to medium term. The bank has set a target of reaching a 75% share of renewable energy within its total energy loan portfolio by 2030, a commitment that defines a clear direction for future lending activity in the power sector and frames the strategic rationale for the green bond instrument. Meeting that target from the current portfolio composition would require a substantial increase in the weight of renewable assets relative to fossil fuel and conventional generation exposures.
The Energy Efficiency and Green Buildings categories address the environmental performance of the built environment, supporting both retrofits of existing structures and new construction that meets defined efficiency benchmarks. These categories are particularly relevant in the Czech context, where a large share of the existing building stock was constructed under older energy standards and presents significant retrofitting potential. Clean Transportation completes the quartet, covering lending to support the electrification of vehicle fleets and associated infrastructure investment.
Together, the four categories align ČSOB's framework with the principal environmental themes addressed by green bond issuers across European banking, and with the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities that increasingly shapes investor expectations for labelled green instruments. The framework's structure provides investors with the clarity they require when assessing whether a green bond meets their own environmental screening criteria.
MARKET CONTEXT AND ISSUANCE PLANS
The publication of a green bond framework is a prerequisite for accessing the expanding pool of investor capital specifically allocated to labelled green instruments. European banks have established such frameworks at pace in recent years as institutional investors — asset managers, pension funds and insurers — have raised their allocations to ESG-compliant fixed income and demanded greater transparency about the use of bond proceeds. ČSOB's framework enables the bank to issue bonds under the green label and to communicate the environmental credentials of its lending activities to a wider group of international investors.
The framework is applicable to both unsecured bonds and secured instruments such as covered bonds, giving ČSOB flexibility in how it structures future transactions depending on market conditions and investor demand at the time of issuance. By formalising this structure in May 2025, the bank positions itself to execute green bond transactions in support of its 2030 portfolio targets as market conditions allow.