Linklaters acts as legal counsel to the joint lead managers of the European Investment Bank’s record-breaking €4bn European Green Bond Standard-aligned Climate Awareness Bond

Linklaters has acted as legal counsel to Crédit Agricole CIB, Deutsche Bank, LBBW and Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking, who acted as the joint lead managers, on the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) issuance of €4bn European Green Bond Standard-aligned Climate Awareness Bond (EUGBS-aligned CAB). This issuance is labelled as a European Green Bond (EuGB) under the European Green Bond Standard Regulation.

The 8-year bond, maturing in March 2034, was issued under the EuGB pre-issuance factsheet included in the EIB’s 2024 Climate Awareness Bonds Framework. The proceeds from the EuGB will be allocated by the EIB to financial assets that finance economic activities contributing substantially to any of the environmental objectives listed in Article 9 of the EU Taxonomy Regulation, with a primary, though not necessarily exclusive, focus on climate change mitigation. These activities will meet all of the criteria for environmentally sustainable economic activities set out in Article 3 of the EU Taxonomy Regulation, including among others the requirement of doing no significant harm to any other environmental objective and the compliance with the minimum safeguards requirements.

This landmark transaction marks the largest EuGB issued in the market to date and is the EIB’s second EuGB issuance following its inaugural EuGB issuance in April 2025, a €3bn EUGBS-aligned CAB, on which Linklaters also advised the joint lead managers. EIB’s cumulative issuances of €7bn of EuGB reflect strong and sustained investor demand for high quality green assets.

The cross-border Linklaters team was led by capital markets partner Andrew Chaplin and included managing associate Petra Tang, associate Melanie Schubert and support lawyer Nitara Hurwitz, all based in London. Key roles were also played by partner Nicki Kayser, managing associate Merve Nazli Kaylan and associate Rony Arrow in the Luxembourg finance practice.