AIB said today that it has raised €650m from issuing its sixth green bond.
AIB said the proceeds of the bond sale will contribute to the financing of projects with clear environmental and climate action benefits while further strengthening the bank's capital position.
It noted that investor interest in the bond peaked at around €3.5 billion, allowing the bank to issue the bond at a coupon of 4.625%.
AIB said the order book represented the largest ever Green Tier 2 order book for a financial issuer and consisted of over 220 investors.
"The quality of the investor base was very satisfying with strong participation from both ESG focused investors representing 50% of the order book and international investment managers," it added.
AIB chief executive Colin Hunt said that sustainability is at the heart of the bank's group strategy, adding that AIB achieves this in many ways including by backing major investment in energy and climate action infrastructure.
He said the bank also supports its personal customers with discounted green mortgages to buy energy efficient homes and green personal loans to fund retrofits or the purchase of electric vehicles.
AIB is aiming for that 70% of its new lending will be green or transition by 2030.
"We are making real progress towards achieving that goal through the deployment of our €30 billion Climate Action Fund. The more green lending we do, the more green capital we can raise as investors are attracted by our strong ESG credentials," the bank CEO said.
"Green bonds are a key part of the transition finance toolkit as they enable capital to be directed towards key green and transition activities. The success of yesterday's transaction further underlines AIB as a national climate action champion with a very strong capital and financial position," he added.
Recognising the importance of climate finance in funding the transition to a low carbon economy, AIB has been rapidly growing its green lending book.
Green lending accounted for about 34% of new lending in the first quarter this year, with €12.5 billion of new green lending since 2019.
The bank has also tripled its Climate Action Fund to €30 billion by 2030 to help build the green infrastructure of the future.
AIB has over the last few years raised a combined €4.65 billion from the issuance of green bonds after becoming the first Irish bank to issue a green bond in 2020.
When social bonds are included, it said it has raised a total of €6.4 billion from the issuance of bonds for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) purposes.
