Banco de Bogotá debuts in the green bond market with COP 300 billion issuance
Proceeds to finance Green Infrastructure, Energy, Water, Waste and Land Use projects
LONDON / BOGOTA: 13:20 BST 12/10/2020: Banco de Bogotá, a Colombian commercial bank with 150 years of history, has finalized the issuance of a COP 300 billion (approx. USD $80.2 million) green bond with a bid to cover of 3.04 and two tranches; a 3-year tenor which priced at a floating rate of IBR + 1.14% and a 5 year tenor priced at 4.75% per year.
The proceeds of Banco de Bogotá first green bond issuance will be allocated to projects that generate environmental benefits and meet the eligibility criteria described in the Green Bond Framework in the following categories:
i) Renewable Energy
ii) Energy Efficiency
iii) Low Carbon Transportation
iv) Green Infrastructure
v) Green Building
vi) Water
vii) Waste Management
viii) Land Use.
The issuance had technical support from Climate Bonds Initiative and Metrix Finanzas in collaboration with its project partner E3 Economía, Ecología y Ética under “Scaling up Green Finance and establishing building blocks for scalable and low carbon investments in Colombia” project financed by UK PACT under the International Climate Finance (ICF) of the UK Government.
Julio Rojas Sarmiento, Executive Vice President of Banco de Bogotá:
“With this Green Bond issuance, we want to contribute to the mitigation of climate change and to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. We are very pleased with the results of the offering, having received interest for almost $1 trillion pesos of notes and a 3.0x+ bid-to-cover ratio; this response from investors reaffirms the importance of protecting the environment and demonstrates support for Banco de Bogota’s efforts in this arena."
Colin Martin Reynolds, British Ambassador to Colombia, UK Pact – Colombia:
“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Banco de Bogota’s first green bond issuance. We hope that this is the first of many green financial instruments to be issued as a result of our technical assistance support and we reaffirm our commitment to supporting ambitious and sustainable actors, such as Banco de Bogota.”
“This news comes as a great example of the UK-Colombia Partnership for Sustainable growth, highlighting how the private sector in Colombia has a key role in supporting a green, clean and resilient recovery in the run up to COP26 and beyond.”
Justine Leigh-Bell, Deputy CEO, Climate Bonds Initiative:
“We congratulate Banco de Bogotá for its first ever green bond. This is an important step towards the development of brown-to-green transition in Colombia and Latin America as a whole. We’re looking forward to seeing more issuances and products coming from the region in the near future.”
Media Contacts:
Mariana Caminha Latin America Communications Manager Climate Bonds Initiative M: +55 (11) 98135 1800 (also Whatsapp) |
Leena Fatin Senior Communications & Media Officer Climate Bonds Initiative (London) +44 (0) 759 332 0198 |
Notes to Journalists:
About Banco de Bogotá: Founded in 1870, it is the first Bank created in Colombia. Currently, it is a universal bank that has a recognized franchise in the country and in Central America, where it has 47% of its operations, through BAC Credomatic. With $175 billion pesos in assets, Banco de Bogotá employs over 45 thousand people who serve over 6 million active clients in more than 23 thousand service points.
About UK PACT Colombia: UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) is a £60m flagship programme under the International Climate Finance (ICF) portfolio. It is part of the UK’s £5.8bn commitment to International Climate Finance by 2021 to tackle climate change. The three-year programme is funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
UK PACT works with partner countries, supporting them to accelerate their clean growth transitions. The programme supports countries eligible for Official Development Assistance (ODA) to implement and increase their ambitions for carbon emission reductions in line with their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the long-term goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit dangerous climate change.
UK PACT responds directly to demand identified by partner governments by providing grants to implementing partners (such as NGOs, businesses and academia). Grantees are selected for their potential to deliver capacity-building support to address governments’ identified needs in a range of areas such as forests, clean energy and energy efficiency, and sustainable transport. The programme meets the demand for high quality skills and expertise aligned with UK leadership and experience.
About Climate Bonds Initiative: The Climate Bonds Initiative is a non-profit organization focused on promoting large-scale investments in the low-carbon economy. Visit our website: www.climatebonds.net or access our social media: Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram & Facebook.