Green Bond and Green Bond Framework
In April 2020, National Bank of Greece S.A. ("the Bank") published its Green Bond Framework (“GBF”) identifying eligible categories of projects in renewable energy that can be designated for the use of proceeds from a Green issuance.
The Bank selected and engaged Sustainalytics to provide a Second Party Opinion ("SPO") on its GBF. Sustainalytics concluded that the Bank’s GBF is in alignment with the four core components of the International Capital Market Association’s (“ICMA”) Green Bond Principles 2018.
On 1st October 2020, the Bank successfully completed the placement of the first Green senior bond from a Greek bank, totaling €500 million with a coupon of 2.750% and a yield of 2.875%, under its GBF. According to ICMA principles for green bonds, based on which the transaction was completed, the Bank is contractually committed to channeling all the funds raised from the sale of the bond to financing projects related to the green economy.
The selection of eligible assets for the green bond proceeds allocation has been completed, achieving full utilization by financing a total of 58 Renewable Energy Sources (“RES”) projects.
Sustainable Bond Framework
As of October 2023, NBG became the first Greek bank to issue a Sustainable Bond Framework, which will be used as the overarching governance framework for any future issuance of Green, Social and other Sustainability-labeled products, or financial instruments. This framework builds on the eligibility criteria previously used in NBG’s Green Bond Framework and expands its applicability to additional green and social eligible categories.
The Framework received an SPO by Sustainalytics, verifying that is credible and impactful and aligns with the Sustainability Bond Guidelines 2021, Green Bond Principles 2021, and Social Bond Principles 2023.
NBG strives to act as a catalyst for growth, thus this framework is considered as an important tool in the Bank’s effort to create a better, more sustainable future, steering the flow of capital towards low-carbon investments, as well as towards societal well-being.
