New European Green Bond, raising €500 mln under the EU’s European Green Bond Standard.

The EU Green Bond Standard imposes strict requirements: proceeds must be directed toward projects aligned with the EU Taxonomy, with enhanced transparency, reporting, and verification. In other words, the label carries regulatory substance. Capital raised under this framework is explicitly tied to environmentally sustainable activity. In this case, the funds will refinance residential real estate lending. That choice is strategically meaningful. Residential housing is central to Europe’s decarbonisation challenge. Energy efficiency upgrades, retrofits, and EPC improvements sit directly within mortgage and refinancing activity. When green funding intersects with housing finance, balance sheet management and climate objectives begin to converge.

The bond offers a fixed coupon of 2.875% until February 2029, after which it converts to a floating structure at three-month EURIBOR plus 65 basis points. This fixed-to-floating design provides near-term rate certainty while retaining flexibility in a higher-rate environment a structure consistent with today’s macro backdrop. The transaction was syndicated by Deutsche Bank alongside ABN AMRO, Crédit Agricole CIB, Natixis, NatWest Markets and SEB, indicating broad institutional participation. Advisers involved in the deal have characterised the placement as an important signal for the continued development of sustainable capital markets in Europe.

Viewed in isolation, €500 million is a single issuance. Viewed structurally, it reflects something larger: the embedding of green funding frameworks into major European bank balance sheets. The more relevant question is not whether green bonds will continue to grow, but how their pricing evolves relative to conventional issuance and whether any measurable “Greenium” persists as supply expands. Sustainable finance is no longer peripheral. It is increasingly integrated into the core mechanics of European capital markets.