World Bank Kicks Off Fiscal Year with CAD 1.5 Billion Sustainable Development Bond and Highlights the Critical Role of Fresh and Saltwater Resources

Washington, D.C., July 17, 2019— The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD, Aaa/AAA) today priced the first global benchmark issue of its new fiscal year 2020*. The 5-year Global Sustainable Development Bond raised CAD 1.5 billion from institutional investors around the globe to finance World Bank’s sustainable development lending. This transaction matches the World Bank’s largest CAD benchmark, issued in January 2019, the largest bond issued by an SSA (sovereigns, supranationals, and agencies) in the Canadian market.

BMO Capital Markets, RBC Capital Markets, and TD Securities were joint lead managers for this transaction. The bond will be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

The CAD 1.5 billion offering enjoyed strong market reception from the onset, with indications of interest surpassing CAD1.1 billion overnight. The final orderbook was oversubscribed, with final books in excess of CAD1.85 billion. The high quality, diversified order book was reflected in the allocation to 47 investors globally.

This Sustainable Development Bond is issued as part of a World Bank initiative to engage investors on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The World Bank’s goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and promoting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner are aligned with the SDGs. Increasingly, investors and other market participants are using the SDGs as a framework for investment and way to communicate support for specific development priorities. Through this engagement, the World Bank and the joint lead managers seek to raise awareness of SDG 6, Clean Water and Sanitation, and SDG 14, Life Below Water.

The World Bank, as the largest multilateral funder for ocean and water projects in developing countries, is committed to working with countries to ensure access to safe and clean water and for the sustainable use of ocean and marine resources. This includes avoiding pollution reaching oceans through better waste management.

Jingdong Hua, World Bank Vice President and Treasurer, said: “We are happy to see such a robust response from investors highlighting their commitment to high quality investments that support sustainable development. Freshwater and marine ecosystems are integral to regulating climate, while also providing nutrition, jobs, and livelihoods. Through our partnership with investors we want to sharpen the focus on these challenges and highlight the essential role investors play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Joint Lead Manager Quotes

Sean Hayes, Managing Director, Head of US Syndicate at BMO Capital Markets, said: “World Bank has kicked off its new fiscal year with a splash in Canadian dollar markets, a Sustainable Development Bond highlighting water and oceans. The premier international SSA issuer in CAD markets for its liquidity, it follows January’s C$1.5bn 3-year with a largest ever in the 5-year tenor. The size and spread achieved is a true testament to both the Canadian domestic and global investor following World Bank attracts.”

Jigme Shingsar, Managing Director SSA DCM at RBC Capital Markets, said: “A spectacular return to the Canadian dollar market for World Bank who once again demonstrated the broad investor appeal of Sustainable Development Bonds. That the “Water and Oceans” theme for this Sustainable Development Bond aligned so well with Canada was just icing on the cake.”

Paul Eustace, Managing Director, Head of EMEA Syndicate at TD Securities, said: "World Bank has demonstrated market leading presence in the Canadian dollar market with this new sustainable development bond. This bond highlights the lending activity of World Bank to support oceans and water, a theme that resonates meaningfully with Canadian investors. We congratulate the World Bank on an exceptional beginning to their funding for the 2019-20 fiscal year."

With annual issuances between US$50-US$60 billion, World Bank bonds support the financing of programs that support the SDGs. World Bank bonds are aligned with the sustainability bond guidelines published by the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA). The World Bank is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Green Bond and Social Bond Principles. A key priority for the World Bank’s capital markets’ engagement is building strategic partnerships with investors to promote the importance of private sector financing in sustainable development.

*The World Bank’s fiscal year begins on July 1.

Investor Distribution by Investor Type and Region

Transaction Summary

** This press release is not an offer for sale of bonds of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development ("IBRD"), also known in the capital markets as "World Bank". Any offering of the bonds will be made only by means of a prospectus containing detailed information that will be made available through the joint lead managers and is subject to restrictions under the laws of several countries. Bonds may not be offered or sold except in compliance with all such laws.

The net proceeds from the sale of the bonds are used by the World Bank to finance sustainable development projects and programs in the World Bank’s member countries without being committed or earmarked for lending to, or financing of, any particular projects or programs.  Returns on the bonds are not linked to the performance of any particular project or program. 

About the World Bank

The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD), rated Aaa/AAA (Moody’s/S&P), is an international organization created in 1944 and the original member of the World Bank Group. It operates as a global development cooperative owned by 189 nations. It provides its members with financing, expertise and coordination services so they can achieve equitable and sustainable economic growth in their national economies and find effective solutions to pressing regional and global economic and environmental problems. The World Bank has two main goals: to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. It seeks to achieve them primarily by providing loans, risk management products, and expertise on development-related disciplines to its borrowing member government clients in middle-income countries and other creditworthy countries, and by coordinating responses to regional and global challenges. It has been issuing sustainable development bonds in the international capital markets for over 70 years to fund its activities that achieve a positive impact. Information on World Bank bonds for investors is available on the World Bank Treasury website: www.worldbank.org/debtsecurities.

Last Updated: Jul 17, 2019