Australia's Westpac to issue AUD-500m green bond

Aussie bank Westpac Banking Copt (ASX:WBC) is selling AUD 500 million (USD 360.6m/EUR 322.4m) of fixed-rate notes marking its debut on the climate bond market.

The proceeds from the tranche will be used to finance a clean energy portfolio in Australia, including low carbon commercial buildings. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) invested AUD 90 million in the green bond, a press release by the agency showed Thursday.

“We are continuing to work collaboratively with co-financiers and project proponents to seek ways to secure financing solutions to help Australia improve the energy efficiency of its cities and the built environment as well as to make the underlying investments required to meet the Renewable Energy Target,” CEFC CEO, Oliver Yates, said.

Earlier this month CEFC and Westpac teamed up for a AUD-200-million financing programme to help businesses invest in clean energy projects such as solar and energy storage, low emissions vehicles and energy-from-waste among other projects.

The Westpac Climate Bond has been certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI). It is part of an AUD-2.3-billion offering of five-year dual-tranche senior unsecured medium-term notes.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.721/EUR 0.645)

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