BBVA Bancomer – the Mexican subsidiary of Spanish bank BBVA – has issued 3.5bn pesos ($180m) of green bonds that will be used to finance three wind farms, energy-efficient buildings and other environmentally friendly projects.
The five-year bond, known as BACOMER 18V, is the first green bond issued by a privately-held bank in Mexico. The bonds will pay 10 basis points on top of Mexico’s 28-day interest rate the TIIE 28, which stands at around 7.6%.
Although the bank didn’t say which renewable energy projects will be financed by the issue, according to Sustainalytics, which certified the bonds, 46% of the proceeds will finance or refinance three wind projects, including a 102MW wind farm in Oaxaca state, and a 100MW solar PV project in Aguascalientes state.
The green bond was issued together with another traditional bond issue of the same amount. The bank said that about 20 local investors bought the bonds, which were oversubscribed by 1.3 times.
Financing is key for Mexico’s renewable energy programme, which aims to reach 35% clean energy supply by 2024 through government tenders that started in 2015. Around 7GW of new wind and solar projects have been contracted which will require over $8bn in investment through 2021.
This is Mexico’s eleventh green bond issue, for a total of 155bn Mexican pesos, in a programme that has also included the government’s development bank Nafin. In Mexico, BBVA Bancomer has already offered other types of financing for wind power projects. In April the bank closed a $400m green loan for the refinancing of three wind farms built by Spain’s Iberdrola.
Source Recharge News