Gazprombank placed its debut RUB15 bn green bond issue

Moscow, November 28, 2023 — On 28 November 2023, Gazprombank successfully made its debut RUB15 bn green bond issuewith a tenor of three years which ranked among the top 3 largest in the Russian banking market, excluding development banks. The coupon is set at 12.75% per annum.

Gazprombank’s bond issue was highest rated (GR-1) and verified by the Russian ACRA Rating Agency to comply with the Green Bond Principles of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), and the Green Taxonomy under Russian Government Decree No. 1587 dated September 21, 2021 (hereinafter referred to as the Russian Taxonomy).

The bond issue was also verified to comply with ICMA Green Bond Principles and the Russian Taxonomy by China Chengxin Green Finance Technology (Beijing) Ltd (CCXGF). This is the first time since 2022 that a Russian bond issue has received international verification and the first issue in the history of the Russian market to be verified by a Chinese verifier.

The Bank will use bond proceeds to refinance the green real estate projects portfolio. The projects to be refinanced include seven modern complexes of multi-apartment residential buildings with a residential area of 582.8 thousand square meters with high energy efficiency class from A to A++. They have also been verified to comply with internationally recognized principles and standards in the field of ecology and green financing, and with the National Standard.

“This issue has become a significant milestone in our successful efforts to introduce sustainable development principles into the Bank’s fund raising practices in debt capital markets, and drew the attention of both large institutional and retail investors to the green agenda,” said Igor Rusanov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprombank.

“Gazprombank has been actively promoting the sustainable development agenda, consistently introducing best practices into all aspects of its operations. The issue of our first green bond, which was verified in Russia and China to comply with the criteria of sustainable development projects, once again secured the Bank’s status as a trailblazerin the field of responsible financing in the Russian market. This is another step towards a more intensive cooperation with our Eastern partners,” commented Alexey Matveev, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprombank.

“The opportunity to refinance green projects through bonds is a significant stage in the development of Gazprombank’s project financing business. The refinanced transactions are in line with the Energy-Efficient Building Construction Objective of the Green Taxonomy to reduce heat and electricity consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions from generation. We see that Gazprombank is playing an increasingly larger role in yet another item on Russia’s green agenda,” said Alexey Belous, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprombank.

“A verification from the largest Chinese agency is an important precedent and a signal to the market to expand the green agenda between the two countries. We are ready to transfer our experience to our customers. The Bank’s dedicated ESG advisory unit, which has secured this verification, is ready to provide services to address customer challenges within the sustainable development agenda, including in the Chinese market,” commented Alexander Sobol, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprombank.