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.
Communications and
Marketing Department
Email: pr@gazprombank.ru