African Development Bank (AfDB) launched a new SEK Green Bond transaction

The transaction has a 5.5-year maturity matched to the Swedish Government Bond (SGB 1054) and was priced at 5-year mid-swaps +15bps, equivalent to a yield of 0.413% and a spread of 59bps over the SGB 1054 at time of pricing.

The orderbook reflected the high quality and support for AfDB Green Bonds from Swedish investors, which accounted for the bulk of the transaction (98%).

The new bond is AfDB’s fifth Green Bond transaction under its new Green Bond Framework Nordea Markets was the sole lead manager for the transaction.

"We are very pleased by the strong interest received from Swedish green bond investors on the AfDB climate finance actions and strategy and thank them for their participation. This is our third transaction in the Swedish green bond market and this bond will support our commitment to help the African continent gradual transition to green growth.” says Hassatou N’Sele, Treasurer, African Development Bank.

“It was great to be back in the SEK market for the first time since our inaugural trades in 2014. We had strong support from Swedish investors in our earlier trades and I was gratified to see this was the case once again. This issuance will allow us to continue to fulfill our development mandate in Africa with a focus on sustainability by financing projects with either a climate adaptation or mitigation component on the continent.” says Keith Werner, Chief Treasury Officer, African Development Bank.

“This is a strong print from a strong issuer. We are delighted to see the successful outcome of the transaction and further proud that the African Development Bank chose to work solely with Nordea for their third consecutive SEK Green bond. The fact that AfDB was able to return to the SEK market in size after a period of almost three years absence proves that the issuer continues to enjoy a strong reputation amongst SEK investors.” says Jacob Michaelsen, Head of Sustainable Bonds at Nordea.