EIB Launches Debut Swedish Krona Climate Awareness Bonds In Collaboration With Swedbank

• Press Release
• Source: Swedbank
• On 3:13 am EST, Wednesday November 4, 2009

STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

The European Investment Bank, EIB has in collaboration with Swedbank launched new “Climate Awareness Bonds” (CAB), for the first time in Swedish Krona. The proceeds will be used for future projects in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency, thereby supporting climate protection.

The EIB, the EU Bank, owned by the EU Member States and rated Aaa/AAA/AAA (Moody’s/Standard and Poor’s/Fitch), has launched new “Climate Awareness Bonds” (CAB), for the first time in Swedish Krona. The lead manager is Swedbank. The bonds are targeted at EIB’s Scandinavian investor base.

“Swedbank, as an environmentally certified bank, is proud to be part of offering these Climate Awareness Bonds. The bonds offer a unique opportunity for investors to actively make “a green investment” while at the same time enjoying a higher return than through corresponding government bonds with the same high AAA/Aaa rating. The initiative also fits the goals of the current Swedish EU presidency, which has climate questions at the top of the agenda. We’ve so far seen good interest from investors and hope to raise further awareness for this kind of investment which offers a win-win situation for all involved parties,” says Michael Wolf, CEO of Swedbank.

The bonds issued in fixed and floating rate format for a total amount of SEK 2.25 billion, will mature on 17 February 2015. The SEK 1.7 billion fixed rate tranche will pay an annual coupon of 2.95%, i.e. 33bps over the interpolated government bond curve. The SEK 550 million floating rate tranche will pay a quarterly coupon of 3-month Stibor +10bps.

The outstanding feature of EIB’s “Climate Awareness Bonds” is that the proceeds from the issues are used to finance projects supporting climate protection. In this case, the funds raised will be used for investment in future EIB lending projects in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency, key areas for international climate protection and where the EU has committed to taking development leadership. The Swedish EU Presidency furthermore has climate protection as a key priority on its agenda.

For further information please visit www.eib.org/investor_relations/index.htm or read attached file.

Swedbank’s vision is to be the leading financial institution in the markets where we are present. Swedbank has 9.4 million retail customers and 600,000 corporate customers with 419 branches in Sweden, 278 branches in the Baltic countries and another 215 branches in Ukraine. The group is also present in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Kaliningrad, Luxembourg, Moscow, New York, Oslo, Shanghai, St. Petersburg and Tokyo. As of December 2008 the group had total assets of SEK 1,812 billion and approximately 21,000 employees. For more information about Swedbank, please visit www.swedbank.com.

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Swedbank
Stefan Goldberg, Swedbank Markets, phone: +46 8 700 9211
or
Andreas Torp, Swedbank Markets, phone: +46 8 700 9953