The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is investing EUR 60 million in a sustainability bond issued by Raffeisenbank Austria d.d. (RBA), the Croatian subsidiary of Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International AG, by participating in a private placement of EUR 200 million.
This year, RBA became the first bank in Croatia to establish a sustainability bond framework, enabling it to issue both sustainability and green bonds in accordance with the International Capital Market Association’s guidelines for sustainability bonds.
“The RBA bond investment serves two of the EBRD’s strategic goals in Croatia: to strengthen the local capital markets and to develop the green economy,” said Victoria Zinchuk, EBRD director for Croatia.
The EBRD’s share of investment in green projects in Croatia has more than doubled over the last four years to more than 60 percent of its annual investment. The bank’s green portfolio in Croatia now ranges from wind farms and insulation to sustainability financing instruments.
