Scotiabank issued a EUR 1 billion senior fixed-rate Green Bond in the European market on 17 April 2024, in what the bank said was the largest green or sustainability bond offering by a Canadian financial institution or corporate to date, according to a statement published on 17 April 2024.
The bond carries a five-year tenor and was issued under the Scotiabank Sustainable Issuance Framework, a revised document released on 5 April 2024, less than two weeks before the transaction was priced.
FRAMEWORK EARNS MOODY'S SECOND PARTY OPINION
The updated Sustainable Issuance Framework received a Second Party Opinion from Moody's, which assigned a Sustainability Quality Score of SQS2, described by the rating agency as Very Good.
The revised framework added new eligible categories compared with its 2021 predecessor, including Nuclear Energy, Circular Economy, Climate Adaptation, and Food Security & Sustainable Food Systems.
The April transaction represents Scotiabank's fourth green or sustainability-labelled benchmark bond overall. Previous transactions had been placed outside Europe.
ISSUE SIZE AND USE OF PROCEEDS
The EUR 1 billion size exceeded the scale of any previous green or sustainability bond issued by a Canadian financial institution or corporate, according to the bank's announcement.
Scotiabank is one of Canada's Big Six banks. The proceeds from the green bond are intended to be allocated to projects falling within the eligible categories defined under the framework.
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