Bank of China contributes to a €675 million EUR syndicated sustainability-linked loan to Acciona for refinancing purposes (Linked to Record ID#104959)

Project narrative

In February 2019, a syndicate of 23 banks — including the Bank of China (BOC) and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — signed a €675 million EUR syndicated sustainability-linked loan (SLL) agreement with Acciona Financiación Filiales, S.A.U. — a Spain-incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary of Acciona, S.A., a Spanish multinational infrastructure and renewable energy conglomerate listed on the IBEX 35 — for refinancing purposes. This recourse loan carried a maturity period of five years and a final maturity date of February 2024. As an SLL, this loan assessed a environmental, social and governance (ESG) variable of the borrower, namely the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) conducted annually by S&P RobecoSAM, with the borrower's performance affecting the funding. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to refinance bilateral loans and Euro Medium-Term Notes (EMTNs). Record ID#104958 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#104959 captures ICBC's contribution. In addition to BOC and ICBC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA), Crédit Agricole Group, Intesa Sanpaolo S.P.A., NatWest Markets Plc, Banco Santander, S.A., UniCredit S.p.A., BNP Paribas S.A., Banco de Sabadell, S.A., Grupo Cooperativo Cajas Rurales Unidas (CRU), MUFG Bank, Ltd., Banca March, S.A., Banco Pichincha, Bayerische Landesbank (BayernLB), CaixaBank, S.A., Caja de Arquitectos, Erste Group Bank AG, Ibercaja Banco, S.A., IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, Kutxabank, S.A., and Liberbank S.A.. BBVA and Santander served as joint sustainability agents. BBVA, Crédit Agricole, Intesa Sanpaolo, NatWest Markets, Santander, and UniCredit served as underwriters, bookrunners, coordinators and mandated lead arrangers. BOC, ICBC, BNP Paribas, Banco de Sabadell, CRU, and MUFG served as mandated lead arrangers. Banca March, Banco Pichincha, BayernLB, Caixabank, Caja de Arquitectos, Erste Group, Ibercaja, IKB, Kutaxabank, and Liberbank joined in syndication as arrangers. The loan was launched at €500 million EUR but oversubscribed and increased to €675 million EUR. As of December 31, 2019, €220 million EUR had been drawn down.