EBRD to invest USD 100m in major green bond fund

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will invest up to USD 100 million (EUR 85m) in the green bond fund created earlier this year by European asset manager Amundi and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The USD-2-billion fund, Amundi Planet – Emerging Green One, has so far secured more than USD 1.2 billion of committed investor interest, according to the announcement. It is intended to be the world's largest green bond fund. The vehicle is exclusively focused on emerging markets and will invest in green bonds issued by private sector financial institutions.

The EBRD's board of directors has approved an investment by the bank in up to 5% of the fixed-income fund.

In a statement today, the EBRD said that while the global market for green bonds has grown rapidly in recent years, few private sector companies and financial institutions have issued green bonds in its regions, which include central, eastern and south-eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the southern and eastern Mediterranean.

The green bond fund will aim to allocate a multiple of at least three times the EBRD's investment to the bank's countries of operations.

"This new fund is expected to contribute to significantly increasing the availability of green finance in the EBRD regions, raising awareness among domestic investors for green capital market products and supporting local financial institutions in issuing green bonds in line with the Green Bond Principles," said EBRD president Suma Chakrabarti.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.849)

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