ING helps raise hospital financing with first Covid-19 bond
ING has collaborated with French bond issuer Caisse Francaise de Financement Local (CAFFIL) on Europe’s first Covid-19-related bond to raise financing for French public hospitals.
ING is joint bookrunner in the €1 billion deal with the first negative yield since the end of February, when the pandemic triggered a global sell-off and closed the primary market.
“This transaction is an example of ING’s efforts to help clients overcome the impact of Covid-19. Sustainable business is better business and investments can catalyse social and green recovery by creating jobs, speeding up growth and building more resilient societies,” said Leonie Schreve, head of Sustainable Finance at ING.
The bond’s proceeds will finance and refinance loans to French public hospitals for research, training, and health support for vulnerable populations.
Public hospitals represent a significant part of the local public sector financing activities led by SFIL, a French public development bank and Caffil’s parent company. ING has previously collaborated with Caffil on France’s first social covered bond, a winner of Environmental Finance’s Bond Awards 2020.