World Bank prices NOK 5billion bond to focus on gender equality and health

World Bank Prices NOK 5 Billion Sustainable Development Bond While Raising Awareness for Health and Gender Equality

The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD, Aaa/AAA) priced its first Norwegian krone-denominated benchmark of 2021, a NOK 5 billion 5-year floating rate Sustainable Development Bond. The World Bank launched the Sustainable Development Bond while raising awareness for the World Bank’s strategy, projects and programs that focus on gender equality and health and highlight how COVID-19 disproportionately impacts women.

The 5-year floating rate bond is the largest NOK deal to date for a supranational issuer. The majority of the deal was placed with banks, bank treasuries, and corporates. Overall, Norwegian investors picked up the largest share at 65%, followed by Danish and Swedish investors at 19% and 16%, respectively. Participating investors included Storebrand Asset Management, Sparebanken Østlandet, Sparebanken 1 SMN, and Sparebanken Vest, among others. Nordea Bank Abp acted as lead manager for the transaction.

“We are pleased to be back in the NOK market and thank investors for their ongoing support of the World Bank’s mandate,” said Jingdong Hua, Vice President and Treasurer, World Bank. “Purpose and impact continue to drive our communication with investors – in our engagement with investors around this transaction, we are highlighting the critical importance of health and gender equality as the World Bank works with member countries towards a resilient recovery from COVID-19.”

"Amidst the vast challenges that Covid-19 continues to present to the world, we applaud the efforts of the World Bank to support those most vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic. Nordea is proud to support the World Bank in raising awareness for this issue,” said Philip Asp, Head of Investment Banking, Nordea.

The World Bank’s goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and promoting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Increasingly, investors and other market participants are using the SDGs as a framework for investment and a way to communicate support for specific development priorities. With this Sustainable Development Bond, the World Bank is raising awareness for SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) and SDG 5 (Gender Equality). Investing in World Bank bonds offers investors an opportunity to align financial and social objectives.