Raiffeisen Bank, the Romanian subsidiary of the Austrian group Raiffeisen, raised about RON 400 mln (EUR 80 mln) in a senior green bond issue, Ziarul Financiar reported.

The bonds, denominated in local currency and having a five-year maturity, were issued at the yield of 3.086% - some 50 bp above the Government bonds’ yield curve. The issue was 1.6 times oversubscribed. The bank’s officials say that the money will be used for eligible projects that will ensure the transition to a sustainable and durable economy.

"Through this issue, we want to reaffirm our commitment to contributing to the development of sustainable and prosperous communities by mobilizing resources for projects that generate value for society as a whole and have a positive social and environmental impact," said Steven van Groningen, president and CEO at Raiffeisen Bank.

"We are pleased with the high interest of investors in the first issue of green bonds of a local bank, which shows us that sustainability issues play a growing role in the investment decisions of financial institutions," said Romulus Mircea, director of Balance Sheet Management and Portfolio at Raiffeisen Bank.

Raiffeisen Bank (Romania) ended the first quarter of 2021 with a net profit of RON 198 mln (EUR 40 mln), up 41% compared to the same period last year. The bank's total assets rose by 9% year-to-year at RON 52.2 bln (EUR 10.6 bln) at the end of March.

"We are pleased with our results in the first three months of 2021, at a time when we have continued to be concerned about the safety of customers, partners, and employees, but we have also focused our efforts on supporting economic recovery by providing financial solutions tailored to customer needs and the real economy,” Steven van Groningen said.

(Photo: Monthira Yodtiwong | Dreamstime.com)

andrei@romania-insider.com