Norton Rose Fulbright advises banking syndicate on the inaugural issuance by NRW.BANK of a EUR 1 billion social bond in the form of an electronic security

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised a banking syndicate consisting of Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (Technical Lead), BofA Securities Europe SA, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank in connection with the inaugural issuance by NRW.BANK (Düsseldorf) of a Social Bond in the form of an electronic security (central register security).

The Social Bond issued by NRW.BANK has a fixed interest rate of 3.00% p.a. and matures on June 4, 2035. It is the first Social Bond based on NRW.BANK's new Social Bond Framework 2025. The issue proceeds will be used to refinance projects to promote affordable home ownership, to preserve and create jobs, to support measures in the healthcare and nursing care sectors, to support municipalities, for example in the area of school education, and to invest in disaster prevention. The Social Bond was issued as an electronic security in the form of a central register security in accordance with the German Electronic Securities Act (eWpG) and has been entered in the central register, which the central securities depository Clearstream Banking AG maintains as a component of its digital post-trading infrastructure "D7".

The Social Bond met with great interest among domestic and foreign investors and was oversubscribed several times.

NRW.BANK is the development bank for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It supports its owner, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, in its structural and economic policy tasks.

Christoph Enderstein, Head of Debt Capital Markets at Norton Rose Fulbright Germany, comments: “My team and I are delighted to have been mandated again in connection with the issuance of a bond by NRW.BANK, especially as the bond is the first social bond issued by a German development bank in the form of an electronic security.”

The Frankfurt team was led by partner Christoph Enderstein (Debt Capital Markets, Frankfurt ). He was supported by Counsel Michael Born (Debt Capital Markets/Financial Services, Frankfurt), Senior Associate Florian Fraunhofer and Associate Miriam Dustmann (both Debt Capital Markets, Frankfurt).

Norton Rose Fulbright's Frankfurt Debt Capital Markets team led by partner Christoph Enderstein advises both investment banks and issuers in connection with national and international capital markets transactions in the areas of debt capital markets and structured finance, in particular on bonds, electronic securities, commercial paper, covered bonds (Pfandbriefe), structured bonds, securitized derivatives, hybrid instruments, registered bonds, Schuldschein loans and debt issuance programmes, as well as related regulatory issues including sustainable finance matters.