Bank Leumi has successfully placed its inaugural $500m Green Bond

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Jan 12, 2023, 01:27 ET

The Bank will use the proceeds to finance eco-friendly projects;
Leumi intends to provide green credit totalling NIS 35bn by 2030

TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) announced today that it has raised $500m from leading institutional investors abroad and in Israel following the issuance of Tier 2 Subordinated Green Notes.

The issuance strengthens Leumi's presence in international markets and is a testament to the confidence of global institutional investors in the Bank. Total demand for the issue was more than $1.7bn at the closing price. Leumi was the first Israeli bank to issue Tier 2 debt to institutional investors outside of Israel in 2020 and the first bank to issue Senior debt abroad in 2022, establishing its position among leading international institutions.

The green bond is Bank Leumi's first offering under the bank's new Green Bond Framework, which details the bank's alignment with the Green Bond Principles, administered by the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA). A Second Party Opinion provided by S&P Global Ratings confirmed the bank's alignment with the Green Bond Principles. The Green Bond Framework and the Second Party Opinion are available on Bank Leumi's website.

The proceeds of the issuance will be used by Leumi to finance eco-friendly projects in diverse areas, such as renewable energy, green construction, green transport, waste recycling, sustainable development and more. The issuance is part of Leumi's advanced ESG strategy, in which the Bank's objective is to grant NIS 35bn in green credit by 2030. Green credit provided by Leumi to its customers amounted to more than NIS 12bn at the end of 2021. Leumi is ranked in the top ten 'Entropy ESG 100 Index', which includes public companies with the highest ESG rating in Israel.

The offering was led by Citigroup as lead underwriter in partnership with Barclays, J.P. Morgan, Jefferies and UBS Investment Bank, while Leumi Partners were the distributors in Israel.

For more information, visit the investor relations page on our website or contact Michael Klahr, VP, Head of Investor Relations, at [email protected].

SOURCE Bank Leumi