Norton Rose Fulbright advises banking consortium on € 2.25 billion Sustainability Bond issued by the State of North Rhine Westphalia

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised a banking consortium consisting of Barclays Bank Ireland PLC, BNP Paribas, Danske Bank A/S, ING Bank N.V., Nomura Financial Products Europe GmbH, Norddeutsche Landesbank - Girozentrale on the successful issuance of a sustainability bond (Sustainability Bond) by the State of North Rhine Westphalia.

The Sustainability Bond, with an issuance volume of € 2.25 billion, bears a fixed rate of interest of 3.30 per cent. and will mature on 6th May 2036.

The Sustainability Bond was issued under the Sustainability Bond Framework established by the State of North Rhine Westphalia in June 2025. In accordance with the detailed provisions of this framework, the State committed to allocating an amount at least equal to the net proceeds of the Sustainability Bond to the financing and refinancing of projects and activities that promote environmental and/or social purposes. Eligible project and activity categories include: affordable basic infrastructure; access to essential social services; affordable housing; employment generation, food security and sustainable food systems; socio economic advancement and empowerment; renewable energy; energy efficiency; pollution prevention and control; environmentally sustainable management of living natural resources and land use; clean transportation; sustainable water and wastewater management; and climate change adaptation.

The Sustainability Bond attracted strong interest from both domestic and international investors and was more than 2.3 times oversubscribed.

Christoph Enderstein, Head of Debt Capital Markets at Norton Rose Fulbright Germany, commented:

"We regularly advise on ESG bonds and have previously supported also the State of North Rhine Westphalia in connection with several of its sustainability bonds. We are therefore particularly pleased to have been reappointed to advise on this successful issuance. This renewed mandate is a strong vote of confidence in our expertise."

The Frankfurt based Norton Rose Fulbright team was led by partner Christoph Enderstein (DCM) and included counsel Dr Michael Born (Regulatory law, DCM), senior associate Florian Fraunhofer (DCM) and associate Quynh Anh Nguyen Walter (DCM).

Norton Rose Fulbright's Debt Capital Markets team in Frankfurt led by partner Christoph Enderstein advises both investment banks and issuers in connection with national and international capital markets transactions in the areas of debt capital markets and structured finance, in particular on bonds, electronic securities, covered bonds (Pfandbriefe), structured bonds, securitized derivatives, hybrid instruments, commercial paper, registered bonds, Schuldschein loans and debt issuance programmes as well as the related regulatory aspects including sustainable finance matters.