Ecobank Raises US$350 Million Tier 2 Sustainability Notes

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (“ETI”), a Lomé based parent company of the Ecobank Group listed on Nigerian Exchange Limited, announced it has successful raised US$350 million Tier 2 Sustainability Notes.

This represents the first ever Tier 2 Sustainability Notes by any financial institution in Africa.

The lender disclosed in a statement signed by Adenike Laoye, Group Head Corporate Communications/Chief of Staff to the Group Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank.

According to the bank, the Tier 2 issuance is the first to have a Basel III-compliant 10NCS structure outside of South Africa in 144A/RegS format and will be listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The bond, which matures in June 2031, has a call option in June 2026 and was issued with a coupon of 8.75 percent with interest payable semi-annually in arrears.

The lender said an equivalent amount of the net proceeds from the notes will be used by ETI to finance or re-finance, new or existing eligible assets as described in ETI’s Sustainable Finance Framework, available at https://ecobank.com/group/sustainability-financeframework on which DNV has issued a Second Party Opinion.

Speaking on the issuance, Ade Ayeyemi, Group Chief Executive Officer of ETI, stated: “This is a landmark issue for Ecobank, and indeed the success of this first Sustainable Tier 2 issuance is testament to our clear strategy, solid positioning across the pan-African banking space as well as our deliberate and long term focus on sustainable initiatives. We are particularly pleased with the diverse orderbook which reflects the confidence investors have in Ecobank to deliver on our commitment to sustainable financing.”

Investor interest for this Sophomore Eurobond issue was global, including United Kingdom, United States, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, achieving a 3.6x oversubscribed orderbook, of over US$1.3 billion at its peak.

The transaction was anchored at the start by Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (“FMO”), a Dutch development bank, with a committed US$50 million order. The notes saw significant demand from asset managers from Europe on opening (including the UK) demonstrated by a number of large tickets.

Overall, investor interest was global including accounts from the United States, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.