news - FMO issues USD 41.3 million 6-year Sustainability Bonds

Today, FMO issued USD 41.3 million 6-year FMO Sustainability Bonds. The lead order for this transaction was from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Rabobank is the sole lead arranger for this transaction.

FMO invests with the motive that ESG – sustainable environmental, social and governance business practices – are the solution in a world facing a surging population and increased consumption.  As an Equator bank, FMO applies the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards on social and environmental sustainability to its financing activities to ensure the implementation of sustainable business practices.  FMO is also a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), a member of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) and the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).

“KLM is pleased to participate in the sustainable bond issued by FMO. This combines our financial strategy to further reduce our USD currency risk and our strategy to be leading in the industry regarding sustainability” said Vijay Panday, Director Treasury & Risk Management, KLM.

 “We are grateful for KLM’s interest in the sustainability bonds issued by FMO.  This is a further testament to FMO as an investment in sustainability, after having been given the top ranking out of all 24 peer financial institutions rated by Sustainalytics worldwide in respect of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance,” said Sheila Codamus-Platel, Treasury Officer, FMO.

Summary Terms:

Issuer: Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO)

Amount: USD 41,300,000.00

Issue date: 12 July 2012
Maturity date: 29 March 2018
Issue price: 91.7094% of the Principal Amount (USD 37,876,000.00)

Maturity price: 100.00 % of the Principal Amount
Denomination: USD 140,000
Dealer: Rabobank International

About KLM

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was founded on 7 October, 1919 to serve the Netherlands and its colonies. KLM is today the oldest airline still operating under its original name. KLM has been part of the AIR FRANCE KLMgroup since the merger in 2004. KLM is the core of the KLM Group, which further includes the wholly-owned subsidiaries KLM Cityhopper, transavia.com and Martinair.

Since the Group was founded in 2004, Air France-KLM has joined all the extra-financial stock market indexes and occupies the sector leadership position in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, DJSI World and STOXX indexes, and also in the Aspi Eurozone, Ethibel Sustainabilty Index (ESI) Europe and FTSE4Good Index Series.

In 2009 oekom research classified Air France-KLM as “Prime”. This means Air France-KLM is according to the oekom Corporate Rating among the leaders within its industry and meets the industry-specific minimum requirements.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a survey that polls leading corporations about the inclusion of climate change issues in their corporate strategy, their approach to carbon constraints as well as their greenhouse gas emissions performance. Air France-KLM joined the CDLI index in 2009, is the top-ranking enterprise in the transport sector and ranks 14th in the CDLI scale in France, with a rating of 68.

About Rabobank

Rabobank Group, established in 1898, is a Dutch based cooperative financial services provider.  Sustained autonomous growth is a leading factor in the strategic course that Rabobank Group aims to steer in the coming years. This strategy centres around its core competence: Food & Agribusiness. 

Based on Rabobank’s cooperative beliefs and strategic ambition, four core values have been formulated. These are respect, integrity, professionalism and sustainability. It is important to Rabobank that clients can recognise their bank in these core values. They form the foundations of the group-wide code of conduct and the basis for the actions of Rabobank’s employees. In addition, Rabobank Group subscribes to a range of internal and external codes on general service provision principles, including guidelines issued by the United Nations, the OECD, the International Chamber of Commerce and the International Labour Organisation.

Reference to Rabobank’s sustainability ratings are on http://www.rabobank.com/content/investor_relations/ratings/sustainability_ratings.jsp

About FMO

The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) is the bilateral private sector development bank of the Netherlands. FMO invests in the private sector, which can serve as an engine of sustainable growth in developing markets. To this end, we provide capital, knowledge and partnerships to ambitious entrepreneurs. With an investment portfolio of € 5.9 billion, FMO is one of the largest bilateral private sector development banks worldwide. Our focus is on three sectors which create a high development impact: financial institutions, energy and agribusiness, food & water. This focus enables us to offer tailor-made finance solutions, based on real expertise. In other sectors, FMO teams up with renowned partners to combine local networks, knowledge and experience.  We believe that our approach will lead to lasting economic and social development, which will empower people to employ their skills and improve their quality of life.

For more information, see: http://www.fmo.nl/investorrelations

Press contact:

Paul Hartogsveld, Communications Officer (PR)

T: +31 70 314 9924                        

E: p.hartogsveld@fmo.nl