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• Planned issue volume to be placed with the International Finance Corporation in two tranches of three-year bonds
• Proceeds of the issue will be specifically earmarked for financing investments by SMEs in energy efficiency, renewable energy and environmentally friendly measures
• ProCredit Holding anticipates that this Green Bond issue will be followed by further placements of a similar type and scale to private investors
ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA (ProCredit Holding) intends to issue its first Green Bonds in the very near future. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is part of the World Bank Group, yesterday signed an agreement to invest in Green Bonds issued by ProCredit Holding totalling USD 90 million in the form of a private placement. ProCredit Holding is the parent company of the development-oriented ProCredit group, comprising commercial banks for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) whose operational focus is South Eastern and Eastern Europe. The company will use the proceeds from its first Green Bond issue to finance “green” investments by the ProCredit banks’ SME clients, i.e. investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy and environmentally friendly measures.
As far as ProCredit Holding and IFC are aware, this will be the first time in the German market that a financial institution has issued Green Bonds specifically for the purpose of financing “green” investments by SMEs in emerging economies. The Green Bonds are expected to be placed in the second and third quarters of 2019.
In making this commitment, IFC aims – via the ProCredit banks – to open up new options for SMEs to finance environmentally friendly investments. An equally important aim is to support the transition from high-carbon to low-carbon economies in the ProCredit group’s countries of operation.
In this context, with their focus on SMEs, the ProCredit banks are making a valuable contribution to ecologically responsible economic development in their respective countries. For this reason, IFC regards the ProCredit group as an important partner in its efforts to increase access to “green finance” for SMEs.
Providing finance for “green” investments is a fast-growing part of the ProCredit group’s development-oriented business model. Its portfolio of “green” loans amounted to roughly EUR 678 million as of 31 December 2018, accounting for 15.4% of the group’s total loan portfolio. In 2018 alone, the “green” loan portfolio of the group grew by 39%. In the medium term, the group aims to raise the share of “green” loans in its total portfolio to 20%.
The Green Bonds will not be offered to the public, and at the time of placement they will not be listed on a stock exchange. The issue of the Green Bonds is subject to the guidelines set forth in the ProCredit group’s Green Bond Framework which is in line with the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles 2018 as confirmed by Sustainalytics in a second party opinion on 3 October 2018.
For its own business activities, the ProCredit group also sets ambitious sustainability targets. Among its medium-term objectives, the group aims to conduct its business on a carbon-neutral basis. The ProCredit group also plans to continue investing in staff training in order to raise the already high level of social and ecological responsibility felt by its employees. This is seen as a key factor in further strengthening ProCredit’s commitment to responsible banking. More information on the ProCredit group’s sustainability projects and commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals can be found in its comprehensive Impact Report, which can be downloaded from the ProCredit Holding website.
Contact:
Andrea Kaufmann, Group Communications, ProCredit Holding, Tel.: +49 69 951 437 138,
E-mail: Andrea.Kaufmann@procredit-group.com
About ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA
ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA, based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is the parent company of the development-oriented ProCredit group, which consists of commercial banks for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In addition to its operational focus on South Eastern and Eastern Europe, the ProCredit group is also active in South America and Germany. The company’s shares are traded on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The anchor shareholders of ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA include the strategic investors Zeitinger Invest and ProCredit Staff Invest (the investment vehicle for ProCredit staff), the Dutch DOEN Participaties BV, KfW Development Bank and IFC (part of the World Bank Group). As the group’s superordinated company according to the German Banking Act, ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA is supervised on a consolidated level by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, BaFin) and the German Bundesbank. Further information is available on our website: www.procredit-holding.com.
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains statements which refer to our future business operations and future financial performance parameters, as well as to future events or developments relating to ProCredit Holding, and which could be regarded as forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on present expectations and certain assumptions on the part of the Management of ProCredit Holding. They are therefore subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which lie outside ProCredit Holding’s control. If one or several of these risks or uncertainties should materialise, or if it should transpire that the underlying expectations are not fulfilled or the assumptions were not correct, then the actual results, performance and success of ProCredit Holding may differ in a materially positive or negative manner from those results that were explicitly or implicitly mentioned in the forward-looking statement. ProCredit Holding does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements or to correct them in the event of deviations from the expected development.