Awarded ‘Pioneers in Emerging Markets-India’, for the first Green Bond in India
Mumbai, February 23, 2016: YES BANK, India’s fifth largest private sector bank, has been awarded the prestigious Green Bond Pioneer Award for being the ‘Pioneers in Emerging Markets-India’ in an award ceremony at London Stock Exchange (LSE), London.
The Green Bond Pioneer Awards are organized by Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), an international investor-focused not-for-profit which focuses on mobilizing the $100 trillion bond market for climate change solutions.
YES BANK has been recognized for its pioneering efforts in the Green Bonds market; including the highly successful issuance of India’s first ever Green Infrastructure Bonds. In 2015,
YES BANK had issued India’s first ever Green Infrastructure Bonds for INR 1000 Crore (USD 160 million) with green shoe option that witnessed strong demand from leading global and domestic investors. Recently, YES BANK and International Finance Corporation (IFC) opened trading of the world’s first Green Masala Bond of INR 3.15 billion issued by IFC and listed on the London Stock Exchange. IFC has invested the proceeds of the bond in YES BANK’s Green Bonds, and the proceeds will be used by YES BANK to fund Renewable Energy projects including solar power and wind power projects.
This Award is a global recognition and acknowledgment of YES BANK’s leadership in establishing the potential of green bonds in India, energizing market activities and facilitating positive engagements with investors, governments and businesses. YES BANK is the only Indian bank to be recognized in these first ever Green Bond Awards. Winners in other categories include World Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Peoples Bank of China (PBoC) and Ile De France amongst others.
CBI has launched the Awards at its inaugural Conference on Global Leadership in the Green Bonds Sector to increase awareness on green bonds in the global investor and corporate community, and also to acknowledge global leadership in the sector. With eminent partners such as the London Stock Exchange Group, Principles of Responsible Investments (PRI), UNEP Inquiry, International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) and Responsible Investor.com, the awards and the conference witnessed participation from Institutional investors, commercial and development banks, and consultancy firms from around the globe.
On the launch of the awards ceremony, Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said “I applaud the effort to raise the profile of green bonds and acknowledge leaders in the sector. This is exactly what we need as a follow up to last year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Paris.” She went onto congratulate winners of the first to congratulate this year’s first ever winners of the green bond awards, and encouraged them for the real on-the-ground movement they have undertaken, that will spur the transformation that spells success for the Paris agreement”.
“We are extremely proud to receive this prestigious recognition by Climate Bonds Initiative”, Namita Vikas, Group President – Responsible Banking and Chief Sustainability Officer,
YES BANK said on receiving the award. “YES BANK aims to be at the forefront of mainstreaming climate finance within the global financial sector and is striving continuously to set industry benchmarks towards creating a sustainable ecosystem. YES BANK has been the first Indian Bank to issue Green Infrastructure Bonds in India. We hope that this recognition will further encourage institutions in the Asia Pacific region to adopt best practices that are directly linked to sustainable growth and development”.
Speaking about the awards, Climate Bonds CEO, Sean Kidney said, “The award recipients are the pioneers of the market, organizations at the forefront of the global financial sectors response to the investment challenges posed by climate change. They are laying new foundations for the capital flows needed to achieve the commitments within the national climate change plans tabled at COP21.”