Private lender İşbank issues green bonds

ISTANBUL

İşbank, the largest private lender by asset, has become the first bank to issue Turkish Lira-denominated green bonds in Türkiye.

In a filing with Borsa Istanbul, the bank said it completed the issuance of the 500 million lira nominal valued green bonds with 728 days of maturity.

Bonds with floating rates and quarterly coupon payments were sold to qualified investors.

The funds raised from the bond issuance will be used to finance loans given to green projects, the bank said in a statement.

İşbank views raising sustainability-themed medium and long-term funds as part of its strategic targets, commented Hakan Aran, the general manager of the bank.

“İşbank embraces an end-to-end business model, extending from fund procurement to delivering sustainable products and services to customers,” he said.

In a separate filing with the stock exchange, the bank also announced that the issuance of sustainable notes with a nominal amount of $28.3 million via its global medium-term note program was completed. The issuance of the bonds with a fixed rate took place in the U.K.

The Capital Markets Board (SPK) has also approved the certificate for the issuance of sustainable notes in the nominal amount of 20.2 million pounds, İşbank said.

In addition to allocating a total of $6.8 billion to fund renewable energy projects, constituting a 77 percent share in their energy generation projects portfolio, they are dedicated to fostering the green transformation in the economy,” Aran said in his remarks earlier this month.

“To realize this commitment, we have introduced a 300 billion Turkish Lira funding package for sustainable financing, extending until 2026,” he added.