Nomura Leads First Green Bond Offering for Residential Mortgages in Japan

Nomura Securities Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nomura Holdings, Inc., today announced that it has priced a twenty-year Green Bond [1] issue valued at 10 billion yen for the Japan Housing Finance Agency (JHF).The JHF Green Bond is the first green bond in Japan aimed at mortgage loans for energy-efficient houses.

Nomura acted as bookrunner for the offering.

JHF supports the stable provision of fixed-rate housing loans to help improve the living standards of people in Japan. JHF’s products include Flat 35S, a mortgage loan which offers lower interest rates on energy-efficient and earthquake-resistant homes over a certain period of time.

The proceeds from the offering will be used for newly constructed Flat 35S-compliant houses that are exceptionally energy efficient. Through the offering, JHF aims to raise greater awareness of the initiatives in place for energy-efficient homes and further contribute to the promotion of quality housing stock.

ESG investing has become widespread in recent years. As part of this, the issuance of green bonds, social bonds that target improved social outcomes and sustainability bonds used for both social and green projects, has been attracting attention globally as a measure to address environmental problems.

By underwriting these types of bonds, Nomura aims to support the further development of the ESG bond market in Japan, and serve as a bridge between investors who want to contribute to society and projects with capital needs that aim to resolve social issues such as climate change and water.

Nomura will continue working to contribute to the growth of the Japanese society and economy, and help realize the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.