NIB issues Environmental Bonds to mark its tenth anniversary in the green bond market

On 13 October, NIB issued two new Environmental Bonds (NEBs): a 5-year SEK 3 billion NEB, and a 6-year NOK 1 billion NEB – the Bank’s first ever green bond issued in Norwegian kroner. With these two bonds, NIB marks its 10th anniversary as a green bond issuer.

“This dual tranche with more than 30 investors participating is a great result to celebrate our 10-year anniversary of issuing bonds under the NIB Environmental Bond Framework. We are delighted to see the support from sustainable investors in Norway for our inaugural NEB in NOK, and equally happy to come back to well-known Swedish investors with our 12th NEB in SEK,” says Jens Hellerup, Head of Funding and Investor Relations at NIB.

In accordance with NIB’s Environmental Bond Framework (NEB Framework), the proceeds of NEBs are allocated to selected projects that benefit the environment in NIB’s member countries. Some of the latest projects eligible for NEB financing are the construction of the Swedish Electric Transport Laboratory (SEEL), Landsnet’s investments to modernize the transmission system in Iceland, as well as multiple renewable energy and electricity grid projects in Norway through loans to Arva AS, Tensio AS, TrønderEnergi AS, and Varanger Kraft AS. The latter projects not only contribute to climate change mitigation, but are particularly important to Norwegian investors, who had the first opportunity to invest in NIB’s environmental bond in Norwegian kroner.

The transactions were met with strong demand for both tranches leading to order books growing to above SEK 5.8 billion and NOK 2.8 billion within less than two and a half hours of book building. They priced at MS -8bps for the SEK tranche and MS -11bps for the NOK tranche, offering NIB highly competitive funding levels relative to peer issuers and markets.

“AP3 is proud to participate in NIB’s 10-year anniversary green bond transaction. Being a high-quality issuer, NIB has been one of AP3’s core holdings in the green portfolio over the past ten years, and AP3 is very pleased to have contributed to a more sustainable future through NIB’s investments in green projects,” says Mats Wirdefeldt, Senior Portfolio Manager at AP3.

Joint lead managers for these transactions are Danske Bank, DNB and Swedbank. See a joint press release to learn more about the trades (PDF).

With the latest transactions, NIB’s total environmental bond issuance now stands at EUR 5.8 billion. Since 2011, more than 130 sustainable projects have been funded with NEB proceeds in the Nordic-Baltic region. In 2019, under the NEB framework, NIB has also started issuing Nordic-Baltic Blue bonds to target investors that are conscious of the challenges facing water resources, especially those affecting the Baltic Sea.

NIB reports on the impact for each project financed and the aggregated impact for the seven different financing categories. The impact tables as well as the list of all projects financed are available on the Bank’s website.

The NEB framework was established in 2011, with the aim of attracting investors willing to support sustainable investments in the Nordic-Baltic region. The framework is aligned with the Green Bond Principles and has a dark green Second Opinion from CICERO. Since 2011, the Bank has issued NEBs every year.

NIB Environmental Bonds	2011–ytd 2021
Issuance:	EUR 5.8 billion
Transactions:	26 NEBs (24 environmental, 2 blue)
Currencies:	7 currencies (ZAR, SEK, BRL, EUR, USD, INR, NOK)
Projects financed:	>130
NEB Framework:	CICERO dark green Second Opinion

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact

Mr Jens Hellerup, Senior Director, Head of Funding and Investor Relations, at +358 961 811 401, jens.hellerup@nib.int

Ms Angela Brusas, Director, Funding and Investor Relations, at +358 961 811 403, angela.brusas@nib.int

Mr Alexander Ruf, Director, Funding and Investor Relations, at +358 961 811 402, alexander.ruf@nib.int