Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the Lomé-based parent of the pan-African Ecobank Group, has priced a USD 450 million Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Capital Bond, becoming the first commercial bank in the world to issue a green bond carrying the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Nature Bond secondary designation, the bank announced on May 14, 2026.
The Tier 2 capital instrument attracted orders exceeding USD 1.36 billion, nearly four times the original USD 350 million target, allowing ETI to upsize the offering by USD 100 million and tighten pricing by 50 basis points. Demand came from investors across the United Kingdom, continental Europe, the United States, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Moody’s Ratings awarded the transaction a Sustainability Quality Score of 1 (SQS1), rated Excellent — the highest possible score ever assigned to a pan-African commercial bank — confirming what many in sustainable finance circles have long debated: that rigorous nature-linked instruments from African issuers can command top-tier institutional confidence.
The bond carries a tenor of 10.25 years, callable after 5.25 years, and is expected to settle on May 19, 2026, with listing on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
Net proceeds will refinance ETI’s outstanding USD 350 million 8.750% Tier 2 Sustainability Notes due June 2031 and fund eligible assets under ETI’s Green Bond Framework. An amount equivalent to the full net proceeds will be allocated to sustainable agriculture and water infrastructure loans spanning 24 African countries.
FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, provided an anchor order of USD 50 million, repeating its role from ETI’s inaugural Tier 2 Sustainability Notes issued in June 2021.
“This transaction is a defining moment for Ecobank and for African sustainable finance,” said Jeremy Awori, Group Chief Executive Officer of ETI.
Renaissance Capital Africa and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners. Ecobank Development Corporation (EDC) served as Co-manager and African Finance Corporation (AFC) acted as Financial Adviser.
The transaction also marks the first ICMA-aligned nature bond from any African commercial bank, a distinction that positions ETI as the continent’s benchmark issuer in a fast-growing global asset class built around biodiversity and ecological preservation.
For a bank operating across 34 sub-Saharan African countries and serving more than 32 million customers, the bond’s structural commitment to protecting the ecosystems that underpin smallholder farming and water systems across the continent carries significance that extends well beyond capital markets.
