Norton Rose Fulbright advises on LatinFinance’s 2025 Sovereign Sustainable Deal of the Year

LatinFinance has selected the Republic of El Salvador's debt-for-nature conversion as the 2025 Sovereign Sustainable Deal of the Year. Norton Rose Fulbright represented the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) in the US$1 billion refinancing of El Salvador's outstanding bonds to support conservation, water security and ecosystem restoration efforts in the Lempa River watershed.

This transaction combines national debt savings and material reductions in debt service costs. The Government of El Salvador will realize more than US$352 million in lifetime savings, with US$350 million applied to the Rio Lempa Conservation and Restoration Program, the largest funding commitment a country has ever made for conservation efforts in a debt conversion transaction.

The transaction was a joint effort from CAF, US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the Environmental Investment Fund of El Salvador (FIAES), ArtCap Strategies and the Government of El Salvador. CAF provided US$200 million in standby letters of credit, while DFC provided US$1 billion in political risk insurance. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. acted as sole arranger and lender for the loan and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as dealer manager in the tender offer for El Salvador's bonds.

Norton Rose Fulbright's deal team was led by Kenneth Hansen and Micaela Garcia-Ribeyro (Washington, DC) and also included Daniel Salomon Sotomayor (New York).

LatinFinance's annual Deals of the Year Awards recognize standout transactions and institutions in the capital markets of Latin America and the Caribbean.