Lomé, Togo, 14 May 2026 – Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (“ETI” or “Ecobank”), the Lomé-based parent company of the Ecobank Group, is pleased to announce the successful pricing of USD 450,000,000 Sustainable Agriculture & Natural Capital Bond (the “Notes”). These Tier 2 capital instruments have a 10.25-year (callable in 5.25 years) tenor and are to be listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange, with settlement expected on 19 May 2026.
The transaction attracted exceptional demand from fixed-income investors. The final orderbook was over USD 1.36 billion, representing a 3.9x oversubscription on the original target size of USD 350 million. The strength and quality of demand allowed Ecobank to upsize the Notes by USD 100 million to USD 450 million and to tighten pricing by 50 basis points. Investor participation was geographically diverse, with demand from the United Kingdom, continental Europe, the United States, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
The Notes carry the ICMA Nature Bond secondary designation under the “ICMA Sustainable Bonds for Nature: A Practitioner’s Guide (June 2025)”, and are aligned with the four core components of the ICMA Green Bond Principles (June 2025).This makes Ecobank the first commercial bank globally to issue a use-of-proceeds green bond with the ICMA Nature stated: Bond secondary designation, and the first ICMA-aligned nature bond from any African commercial bank.
Moody’s Ratings awarded the transaction a Sustainability Quality Score of SQS1 — Excellent — the highest possible score to be awarded to any pan-African commercial bank, underscoring
Ecobank’s leadership in sustainable finance and its robust alignment with international best practices. The net proceeds will be used to finance a concurrent any-and-all tender offer for ETI’s outstanding USD 350,000,000 8.750% Tier 2 Sustainability Notes due June 2031, and to finance or refinance eligible assets under ETI’s Green Bond Framework. An amount equivalent to the full net proceeds will be allocated to the eligible pool of sustainable agriculture and water infrastructure loans across 24 African countries, as further described in ETI's Green Bond Framework.
FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, provided an anchor order of USD 50 million. This marks the second consecutive Ecobank Tier 2 capital transaction in which FMO has served as anchor investor and follows its USD 50 million anchor order in Ecobank’s inaugural USD 350 million Tier 2 Sustainability Notes in June 2021.
“This transaction is a defining moment for Ecobank and for African sustainable finance. Investors not only embraced this bond — they demanded more of it, allowing us to upsize and to tighten pricing by 50 basis points. That is the market telling us that rigour and credibility in sustainable finance are rewarded. We are not a bank that labels bonds. We are a bank that has spent four years building the infrastructure, the governance, and the conditions that make nature finance real. This bond belongs to the millions we serve, to the farmers and cooperatives across 24 African countries whose livelihoods depend on the ecosystems we are now formally committed to protecting” said Jeremy Awori, Group Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated
“The success of this transaction validates both the strength of Ecobank’s credit and the quality of our sustainability architecture. By refinancing our 2021 Tier 2 Sustainability Notes ahead of their June 2026 call date and upsizing to USD 450 million in the same transaction, we have executed a clean liability management exercise while simultaneously advancing our sustainable finance programme. We remain grateful for the support and partnership from Renaissance Capital Africa and Standard Chartered Bank who acted as Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners, Ecobank Development Corporation, which acted as Co-manager and African Finance Corporation, which served as the Financial Adviser for the transaction ” added Ayo Adepoju, Group Chief Financial Officer, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated
“Nature finance in Africa has too often been discussed far from the communities and environments it is meant to support. This bond helps change that. It reflects the systems, standards and tools Ecobank has put in place to make nature finance practical and credible. As a pan-
African bank, we understand that climate and nature risks are also financial risks. Moody’s SQS1 recognition confirms the strength of our approach” said Rachael A.O. Antwi, Group Head of Sustainability & ESRM, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated
*Important Note*
This announcement does not contain or constitute an offer of, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for, securities to any person in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful. The securities referred to in this press release have not been and will not be registered under the regulations in Nigeria, Ghana and UEMOA, and may not be offered or sold in these regions.
The information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase, subscribe for or otherwise acquire, the securities referred to herein (the "Notes") in any jurisdiction. The distribution of this communication and other information in connection with any offering of the Notes in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law and persons into whose possession this communication or other information referred to herein comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restriction. In particular, this announcement and such other information is not for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, to US Persons (as defined below) (except as specified below) or into or within the United States (except as specified below), Australia, Canada or Japan, or any other jurisdiction where, or to any other person to whom, to do so would be unlawful. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws in any such jurisdiction.
This announcement is an advertisement and is not a prospectus for the purposes of the Prospectus Rules: Admission to Trading on a Regulated Market sourcebook of the FCA Handbook (the "PRM") made in accordance with the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations 2024. A prospectus prepared pursuant to the PRM is intended to be published on the issuer’s website. Investors should not subscribe for the Notes except on the basis of information contained in the prospectus prepared in relation to the Notes.
UK MiFIR – professionals/ECPs only - The manufacturer target market (UK MiFIR product governance) is eligible counterparties and professional clients only (all distribution channels).
This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom, or (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order"), or (iii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order, or (iv) other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated (all such persons (i) to (iv) together being referred to as "relevant persons"). Any investment activity to which this communication may relate is only available to, and any invitation, offer, or agreement to engage in such investment activity will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this communication or any of its contents.
The Notes have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States, and may not be offered, sold, resold, pledged, delivered or transferred, directly or indirectly, into or within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, any "U.S. persons" as defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act ("US Persons"). The offer is being made to persons other than US Persons in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act. There has been and will be no public offering of the Notes in the United States.
A rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be subject to revision, suspension or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating organisation. Similar ratings for different types of issuers and on different types of notes do not necessarily mean the same thing. The significance of each rating should be analysed independently from any other rating.
-ENDS-
Investor Relations Contact
Ato Arku
Group Investor Relations
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated
Email: ir@ecobank.com
Tel: +228 22 21 03 03
Media Contact
Christiane Mbimbe Bossom
Group Communications
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated
groupcorporatecomms@ecobank.com
About Ecobank Group (or ‘Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’ or ‘ETI’)
Ecobank Group is the leading private pan-African banking group with unrivalled African expertise. Present in 34 sub-Saharan African countries, as well as France, the UK, UAE and China, its unique pan-African platform provides a single gateway for payments, cash management, trade and investment. The Group employs over 14,000 people and offers Consumer, Commercial, Corporate and Investment Banking products, services and solutions across multiple channels, including digital, to over 32 million customers. For further information, please visit www.ecobank.com