$50 million Successful Closure Of Green Bond Announced By Access Holdings

In a statement made available on the website of the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX), Access Holdings PIc has announced the successful closure of its $50 million Reg Step-Up Green Notes due 2027 in the international capital market.

This is Access Bank’s second Green Bond issuance, following its initial Naira Green Bond issuance in 2019.

The Green Bond was issued with a coupon of 5.50% in the first two years and then steps up (on the put option date) to 7.25% in the last 3 years to maturity, with interest payable semi-annually in arrears.

The statement partly reads, “Access Holdings PIc is pleased to announce that its banking subsidiary – Access Bank Plc-(the Bank’) (rated ‘B’ l stable outlook by Fitch and ‘B2’ negative outlook by Moody’s)-a leading full service Nigerian commercial bank with presence in 17 countries has successfully priced a US$50 million Reg S Step-Up Green Notes due 2027 in the international capital market via a private placement.

“The net proceeds from the issuance of the Green Bond will be used by the Bank for the financing or refinancing, in part or in full, new and/or existing projects and/or assets meeting the eligibility criteria set out in the Bank’s Green Financing Framework dated 18 November 2021, on which S&P Global Ratings has provided a second party opinion.”

Roosevelt Ogbonna, the Bank’s Managing Director/CEO restated Access bank’s commitment to be Africa’s Gateway to the World

“Our vision at Access Bank remains to be the World’s Most Respected African Bank and Africa’s Gateway to the World as we strive to do so in a sustainable way.

"This US$50 million 5-Year Step-Up Puttable Green Bond represents another milestone for the Bank and is a testament to our culture of global collaboration and innovation as we extend the frontiers of financial services across the continent", he