Norton Rose Fulbright advises international banking syndicate on the successful first issuance of a European Green Bond by NRW.BANK

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised a syndicate of international banks comprising DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale (Technical Lead), DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentralgenossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main, NatWest Markets N.V. and Nordea Bank Abp on the successful issue of NRW.BANK's inaugural European Green Bond (EuGB), which has a volume of EUR 1.5 billion. The bond was successfully placed and was more than twice oversubscribed.

The issuance is the first by NRW.BANK under the European Green Bond Standard which the European legislator has introduced as new market standard for green bonds. According to the underlying Regulation (EU) 2023/2631 (EuGBR), bond-related requirements must be complied with in order to use the statutory designation "European Green Bond" or "EuGB". At the heart of these requirements is the use of proceeds for economic activities that are classified as environmentally sustainable under Regulation (EU) 2020/852 ("Taxonomy Regulation"), the cornerstone of European ESG regulation. European Green Bonds offer investors a high degree of transparency. The issuers of European Green Bonds are subject to comprehensive reporting and external review requirements.

The transaction follows the publication by NRW.BANK of its European Green Bond Factsheet in April 2026. This factsheet has been subject to a pre-issuance review with a positive opinion from ISS Corporate Solutions, Inc. (ISS-Corporate).

NRW.BANK will use the issuance proceeds exclusively for financial assets refinancing environmentally sustainable economic activities pursuant to the Taxonomy Regulation and contributing to both climate change mitigation and the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems.

The bond, which was issued as an electronic bond in the form of a central register security (Zentralregisterwertpapier), was admitted to trading on the regulated markets of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange as well as the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE000NWB0B16). It will mature in May 2033 and pay an annual fixed interest rate of 3.125 per cent. per annum.

NRW.BANK is the development bank for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It supports its owner, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, in its structural and economic policy tasks.

With this transaction, the Norton Rose Fulbright team led by partner Christoph Enderstein (Debt Capital Markets, Frankfurt) builds on its advisory work in connection with the inaugural issues of a Green Bond, a Social Bond, an electronic bond issued in the form of a central register security and an electronic bond issued in the form of a crypto security (Kryptowertpapier) by NRW.BANK.

Christoph Enderstein, who is also responsible for Norton Rose Fulbright's debt capital markets practice in Germany, commented:

"The successful placement of NRW.BANK's first European Green Bond sends an important signal for sustainable financing not just in North Rhine-Westphalia, but also in Germany and in Europe, and we are pleased to have supported the Joint Lead Managers in connection with this transaction, which is important for NRW.BANK and which underscores the strong position of NRW.BANK in connection with the issuance of ESG Bonds."

The Norton Rose Fulbright team also included counsel Dr. Michael Born (Debt Capital Markets/Regulatory), who advised on the regulatory aspects of the transaction, as well as senior associate Florian Fraunhofer and associate Quynh-Anh Nguyen-Walter (both Debt Capital Markets, Frankfurt).

In-house advice at NRW.BANK was provided by Tanja Borchart and Oliver Winkelnkemper, Business Management within Capital Markets as well as by Christian Hardt, head of Investor Relations & ESG, Jasmin Fußangel, Director and Felix Baumann, IR & ESG specialist in the business unit Investor Relations & ESG within Capital Markets.

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.