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SEK Conducts Green Private Placements

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Stockholm (NordSIP) – At the end of June, Swedbank Robur and Nordea helped the Swedish Export Credit Corporation’s (SEK) conduct two private placement taps of its green bond. This latest tap was divided into two transactions. SEK1 billion was conducted with the assistance of Swedbank Robur, while another SEK700 million was issued through Nordea. 

SEK issued its first green bond in 2019. The fixed-income security is a three-year fixed-rate green bond with a nominal value of SEK1 billion. The transaction was priced at mid-swap +4 basis points (bps). “Last week, SEK issued two green bonds in Swedish krona,” Johan Henningsson, Head of Sustainability at SEK, told NordSIP. “The first transaction was a fixed rate bond with a maturity of three years and a nominal amount of Skr 1 billion. Swedbank was the dealer on this tap. The second transaction was a fixed rate bond with a maturity of five years and a nominal amount of Skr 700 million. Nordea was the dealer on this transaction. Both bonds were priced in line with Swedish mortgage bonds or slightly through those levels.”

According to SEK’s Green Bond Framework, the proceeds from green bond projects will not be directed to fossil fuel projects. Eligible projects focus on a range of activities. According to SEK’s June Green bond Newsletter, its has disbursed USD746 million to projects focusing on renewable energy (58%), sustainable construction (15%), resources and the environment (14%), sustainable transport (10%), and energy efficiency (3%). It estimates the projects have facilitated an annual reduction of 2.7 million tons in CO2 emissions.

CICERO reviewed SEK’s rules and procedures for climate-related activities in 2014. The second opinion highlighted SEK’s emulation of well-established guidelines like the IFC’s Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability and the International Financial Institution Framework for Harmonised Approach to Greenhouse Gas Accounting. It noted these features gave the Swedish agency’s green bond framework “a very high probability of securing projects that support a low carbon and climate-friendly future.”

“We are proud to have launched our third green bond transaction in the SEK market. Issuing bonds with a dark green label is a way to disseminate knowledge about the importance of environmental efforts towards our counterparties in Sweden and the rest of the world,” Henningsson added .

“We believe that the Swedish Export Credit’s Green Bond Framework with a dark green shading is one of the strongest frameworks in the market. We are therefore very pleased to invest in their green bond issuance supporting projects that promote renewable energy and the transition towards a low-carbon economy,” commented Thomas Bäck, portfolio manager at Swedbank Robur.

Image Courtesy of SEK

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