A few days ahead of the adoption of the Green Deal project by the European Council, Amundi and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are pleased to announce the fundraising for the first vintage of the Green Continuum programme has successfully reached EUR 253 million as of 30 of November 2019. The programme was launched in July earlier this year.

'When we invest in a climate project & mobilise the private sector, they must trust us. We must be reliable & transparent. That’s what draws the private sector in. We cannot reach the climate objectives by just relying on the taxpayers’ money only.' EIB President Hoyer #COP25 pic.twitter.com/kegvTOJoB6

— European Investment Bank (@EIB) December 9, 2019

Representing a new frontier of sustainable finance in Europe, the programme aims to contribute to the deployment of new financing required to meet the commitments made under the Paris Agreement on climate change. Amundi and the EIB launched the partnership to finance European environmental objectives, foster the development of new market instruments, and facilitate access to market financing for smaller companies and green projects, while offering higher yields to investors.

Through this programme, Amundi and the EIB hope to enhance the green debt market beyond existing green bonds, to support small-scale green projects and financing for green SMEs. The initial commitment from the EIB is EUR 60m.

The Green Credit Continuum programme has proven to be of great interest to investors from both the public and private sectors. The programme has attracted initial commitments from pension funds, insurance companies, banking institutions, and public investment institutions based in three countries (Denmark, France and Luxembourg).

This first of the three planned vintages of the programme gathers institutional investors committed to the development of green capital markets to support European energy transition. These include the French Caisse des Dépôts, the Caisse Centrale de Réassurance, the social welfare group Agrica and the Danish pension fund Lærernes.

Crédit Agricole group is also a core investor in the project, through 10 of its French regional banks*.

This first vintage will invest in these nascent green segments, opening up the market. Subsequent vintages will give additional investors a new opportunity to join this innovative programme. The investment period for the first vintage will start in December, and Amundi is aiming to raise a second vintage as soon as the initial funds raised have been successfully deployed and invested. The ultimate ambition is to deploy EUR 1 billion through this programme.

In order to maximize the impact of the programme and foster green credit market expansion, Amundi is creating a Green Transaction Network with leading financial institutions and issuers to source deals and projects. In parallel, a scientific committee of green finance experts is being established to define and promote environmental guidelines for the target markets in line with international best practice and legislation derived from the European Commission action plan.

EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle said: “The EIB has been at the forefront of the green finance promotion, issuing the first green bond in 2007, increasing its climate financing year after year and strengthening its climate policy. While progress has been made on many fronts, financing gaps persist, including in Europe. This programme is designed to address these gaps, and we are happy to be partnering up with Amundi to do so.”

Amundi CEO Yves Perrier added: “We have seen fantastic enthusiasm for this programme among institutional investors who recognise the importance of energy transition and wish to diversify their sources of yield in a low interest rate environment. Leveraging our European debt investment capabilities, our commitments to ESG and the EIB’s unique presence and capabilities in Europe and in climate finance, the Green Credit Continuum is a unique public-private partnership addressing Europe’s ambitious but critical environmental objectives.”

Olivier Mareuse, CIO at Caisse des Dépôts commented: “CDC is happy to contribute to this initiative which is perfectly in line with its green bond investment strategy and its climate policy; it will enhance the development of the green bond market beyond investment grade bonds, toward high yield and non-listed debts.”

Source: Amundi