Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the Lomé based parent company of the Ecobank Group has announced that it has successfully raised $350 million Tier 2 Sustainability Notes.

This represented the first ever Tier 2 Sustainability Notes by a financial institution in Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the statement, the Tier 2 issuance was the first to have a Basel III-compliant 10NC5 structure outside of South Africa in 144A/RegS format and will be listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

The bond, which matures in June 2031, has a call option in June 2026 and was issued with a coupon of 8.75 per cent with interest payable semi-annually in arrears.

It explained that an equivalent amount of the net proceeds from the notes would be used by ETI to finance or re-finance, new or existing eligible assets as described in ETI’s Sustainable Finance Framework.

“Investor interest for this Sophomore Eurobond issue was global, including United Kingdom, United States, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, achieving a 3.6 times oversubscribed order-book, of over $1.3 billion at its peak.

“The transaction was anchored at the start by Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO), a Dutch development bank, with a committed $50 million order,” it added.

Group Chief Executive Officer of ETI, Ade Ayeyemi, stated: “This is a landmark issue for Ecobank, and indeed the success of this first Sustainable Tier 2 issuance is testament to our clear strategy, solid positioning across the pan-African banking space as well as our deliberate and long term focus on sustainable initiatives.

“We are particularly pleased with the diverse orderbook which reflects the confidence investors have in Ecobank to deliver on our commitment to sustainable financing”.