We were named “Lead manager of the Year, green bonds – financial institution” and “Lead manager of the Year, social bonds – supranational, sub-sovereign and agency (SSA)” and were also recognised in the category “Sustainability-linked loan of the year – corporate (EMEA)” for our sustainability-linked loan for Statnett.

The judges highlighted NatWest’s “focus on developing practical solutions and tools for investors and customers to better manage ESG data and strategies” and also praised our “work on structuring and updating frameworks to meet investor expectations and adhere to emerging market best practices” which “is expected to improve the quality of offerings in the market”.

Caroline Haas, our Head of Climate and ESG Capital markets, commented on the wins “The awards are a culmination of multiple specialist teams working closely together to ensure the best outcome for our customers. And winning awards across customer groups is not only a testament to the breadth of our teams but their ability to add distinct value to different types of issuers.”

On the green bonds side, the panel was impressed by NatWest’s support for issuers by assisting issuers such as Swedish bank Länsförsäkringar Bank’s debut EUR benchmark bond and Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo’s first GBP Green Bond. In addition, the judges acknowledged NatWest’s role in helping institutions issuing green bonds in new asset classes – such as Rabobank who came to market with its first green covered bond – and pointed to NatWest’s expertise in sustainable finance overall, supporting many financial institutions with their ESG ratings in 2023 as well as advising many on the updates of their green bond frameworks.

“At NatWest, we aim to help our financial institution customers in every step of their climate transition journeys, from advancing their sustainability strategy, disclosures and ESG ratings to structuring green, social and sustainability financing frameworks and impact reporting,” said Jake Hallam from our Climate and ESG Capital Markets, Financial institutions team. “This deep understanding of our clients’ sustainability stories, combined with our close connections to ESG investors, underpins our delivery of strong outcomes during green bond execution.”

On the social bond side, the Environmental Finance Debt Awards panel praised NatWest’s support for social SSA issuers across framework development, post-issuance reporting, ESG regulation, ESG ratings advisory and ESG investor mapping, pointing to NatWest’s mandates from the African Development Bank (AfDB) in its inaugural GBP social bond, as well as Unédic, France’s social benefit agency for its sole social bond mandate of the year, as well as others.

The judges commended NatWest’s social bonds application for its “broad social impact including the global south” and also highlighted NatWest’s role in expanding the market through initiatives such as its inaugural ESG SSA Issuer & Investor event in 2023, where over 80 meetings were held between major European green, social and sustainability SSA issuers and key ESG investors.

“Our ambition is to support social issuers and bring critical matters such as the just transition to the forefront of investment discussions,” says Kerr Finlayson, Head of our Frequent Borrowers Group (FBG) Syndicate. “We have been able to deliver strong social bond execution through our understanding of key social themes and our deep network of ESG investors who are actively looking for social impact investments. We are proud of the trust placed in NatWest by our SSA customers and we are delighted that our good work and our commitment is reflected by this prestigious award”.

The NOK8 billion ($747 million) Sustainability-linked loan (SLL) for Statnett, Norway’s Transmission System Operator (TSO), won the “Sustainability-linked loan of the year – corporate (EMEA)” accolade.

In the role of Sole ESG Advisor, we supported Statnett with the definition of ambitious and innovative key performance indicators (KPIs) for the loan – including a KPI reducing SF6, a potent greenhouse gas used in the Norwegian transmission system operator’s high-voltage switchgears, and one KPI reducing Serious Injury Frequency (SIF). The innovative structure successfully delivered NOK8 billion in commitments, marked by a 100% acceptance rate across all eight invited banks.

Cathrine Lund Larsen, CFO, Statnett reflected “This award is a testament to how we at Statnett are aligning our sustainability and financing strategy across our liquidity and debt products, as well as our commitment to driving best practices in sustainable finance. We are very proud of the structural components of this SLL, as the KPIs of SF6 emission reduction and SIF reduction are highly material to Statnett and our environmental and social strategy.”

Commenting on the transaction as well as the broader SLL market, Gustavo Brianza, Head of ESG Advisory added “We’re delighted to have supported on this innovative transaction, and to work with Statnett across all financing products, KPI-linked and use of proceeds.  As more borrowers establish their transition plans and commit to various objectives, sustainability-linked financing will be ideally suited to finance companies’ transition plans at an efficient cost.”