Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the parent company of the Ecobank Group based in Lomé, has successfully priced a $450 million Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Capital Tier 2 Eurobond.
Nairaconomy gathered that this achievement represents a significant milestone in the bank’s sustainable finance strategy.
The Tier 2 capital instruments have a tenor of 10.25 years and are callable after 5.25 years. They are anticipated to be listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange, with settlement scheduled for May 19, 2026.
The issuance attracted strong investor interest from global fixed-income markets, with the final order book exceeding US$1.36bn, representing a 3.9-times oversubscription relative to the initial target size of US$350m.
Following strong demand, Ecobank increased the issuance size by US$100m to US$450m and successfully tightened pricing by 50 basis points. The Notes carry the ICMA Nature Bond secondary designation under the “ICMA Sustainable Bonds for Nature:
A Practitioner’s Guide (June 2025)” and are aligned with the four core components of the ICMA Green Bond Principles (June 2025), making Ecobank the first commercial bank globally to issue a use-of-proceeds green bond with the ICMA Nature Bond secondary designation, and the first ICMA-aligned nature bond from any African commercial bank.
Moody’s Ratings awarded the transaction a Sustainability Quality Score (SQS) of SQS1 Excellent, the highest possible score for any pan-African commercial bank, underscoring Ecobank’s leadership in sustainable finance and its robust alignment with international best practices.
According to the bank, the net proceeds will be used to finance a concurrent any-and-all tender offer for ETI’s outstanding USD 350,000,000 8.750% Tier 2 Sustainability Notes due June 2031, and to finance or refinance eligible assets under ETI’s Green Bond Framework.
An amount equivalent to the full net proceeds will be allocated to the eligible pool of sustainable agriculture and water infrastructure loans across 24 African countries, as further described in ETI’s Green Bond Framework.
FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, provided an anchor order of USD 50 million. This marks the second consecutive Ecobank Tier 2 capital transaction in which FMO has served as anchor investor and follows its USD 50 million anchor order in Ecobank’s inaugural USD 350 million Tier 2 Sustainability Notes in June 2021.
“This transaction is a defining moment for Ecobank and for African sustainable finance. Investors not only embraced this bond, they demanded more of it, allowing us to upsize and to tighten pricing by 50 basis points.
‘’That is the market telling us that rigour and credibility in sustainable finance are rewarded. We are not a bank that labels bonds. We are a bank that has spent four years building the infrastructure, the governance, and the conditions that make nature finance real. This bond belongs to the millions we serve, to the farmers and cooperatives across 24 African countries whose livelihoods depend on the ecosystems we are now formally committed to protecting,” said Jeremy Awori, Group Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated
Similarly, Ayo Adepoju, Group Chief Financial Officer, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, said: “The success of this transaction validates both the strength of Ecobank’s credit and the quality of our sustainability architecture.
‘’By refinancing our 2021 Tier 2 Sustainability Notes ahead of their June 2026 call date and upsizing the transaction to USD 450 million, we have executed a clean liability management exercise while simultaneously advancing our sustainable finance programme.
‘’We remain grateful for the support and partnership from Renaissance Capital Africa and Standard Chartered Bank, who acted as Joint Lead Managers and Joint Book runners, Ecobank Development Corporation, which acted as Co-manager, and African Finance Corporation, which served as the Financial Adviser for the transaction.’’
Rachael A.O. Antwi, Group Head of Sustainability & ESRM, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, said, “Nature finance in Africa has too often been discussed far from the communities and environments it is meant to support. This bond helps change that.
‘’It reflects the systems, standards, and tools Ecobank has put in place to make nature finance practical and credible.
‘’As a pan-African bank, we understand that climate and nature risks are also financial risks. Moody’s SQS1 recognition confirms the strength of our approach.”
The bank noted that investor participation was geographically diversified, attracting demand from the United Kingdom, continental Europe, the United States, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.
The proceeds from the bond are expected to support sustainable agriculture, natural capital preservation, and broader environmental and climate-focused financing initiatives across Ecobank’s pan-African operations.