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LAGreen and UNEP-FI join forces to deliver green bond training series for the banking sector in eight Latin American and Caribbean countries

17/08/2022
  • These capacity building programs, provided by international green bond experts and consultants, aim to promote and facilitate more thematic bond issuances in the region.

Colombia and Luxembourg, 17 August 2022 – LAGreen, the Latin American Green Bond Fund, teamed up with the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) to promote capital market financing for green and social project investments in Latin America. The partners have launched a series of capacity building programs on green, social, sustainability, and securities-based lending bonds addressed to the banking sectors across the region. The first events have already taken place in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and the Dominican Republic, and will be followed by an event in Brazil later this month.

In each country, the trainings are provided in partnership with the respective national banking associations, as well as key local stakeholders, some of which include Asociación de Bancos Privados de Bolivia (ASOBAN), Pacto Global Bolivia, Confederación de Empresarios Privados de Bolivia, Cámara de Bancos e Instituciones Financieras de Costa Rica, Asociación de Bancos de México, Ministerio de Ambiente de Perú, Asociación de Bancos del Perú, ASOBANCA, ABANCORD, ABA, Asobancaria, Bolsa Bolivariana de Valores, and Bolsa de Valores de Quito.

In addition to country specific partners, the program benefits from the support of NINT (formerly SITAWI Finance for Good), a pioneer organization in the development of financial solutions for sustainable impact in the region; the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), an international organization working to mobilize global capital for climate action; the European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union; the Pacific Corporate Sustainability (PCS), a sustainability-committed consulting enterprise; and the Principles for Responsible Investing (PRI), a United Nations supported network of responsible investors.

The courses are aimed to help participants identify the potential advantages of issuing thematic bonds, as well as gaining a comprehensive understanding of the structuring process. Content covers in-depth descriptions and best practices of different instruments, and multiple methodologies and tools used to measure them. The training format will span from open discussions and debates to group and individual case studies and exercises.

LAGreen’s Technical Assistance Facility, funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and managed by Finance in Motion, is sponsoring this knowledge sharing initiative.

Diana Arango, Member of the LAGreen Technical Assistance Facility said “Green bonds are an important instrument to mobilize private sector capital for sustainable project investments and encourage high impact and transparency standards in the market. Through these trainings, we aim to promote the use of these bonds by equipping potential issuers with the information they need to leverage this tool.”

For more information on the Green Bond Capacity Building Courses, please visit: https://www.unepfi.org/events/serie-de-capacitaciones-en-bonos-verdes-sociales-y-sostenibles/

About LAGreen Fund

The LAGreen Fund is the first impact investment fund dedicated to promoting the issuance of green bonds in Latin America. The objective of the LAGreen Fund is to consolidate green bonds as instruments for mobilizing resources towards more sustainable and green economic models in the region. With the purpose of financing sustainable investments, the fund provides technical assistance and invests in green bonds issued in the region.

The German Development Bank (KFW) established the LAGreen Fund, with seed capital provided by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Finance in Motion as an investment advisor. The fund seeks to support the issuance of high-impact green bonds in the region, attract a greater volume of long-term funding for sustainable projects, as well as support issuers through technical assistance during the different phases of bond preparation, issuance, and post-issuance and through the commitment to purchase a significant portion of the issue.

For more information on the LAGreen Fund, please visit: www.lagreen.lu   For more information on Finance in Motion, please visit: www.finance-in-motion.com 

About UNEP FI

United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) catalyses action across the financial system to align economies with sustainable development. UNEP FI brings the UN together with banks, insurers and investors globally to shape the sustainable finance agenda. As the UN network for the finance sector, we’ve established the world’s foremost sustainability frameworks within the finance industry to address global environmental, social and governance (ESG) challenges. We incubated the Principles for Responsible Investment, now the world’s leading proponent on responsible investment, and are facilitating implementation of UNEP FI’s Principles for Responsible Banking and Principles for Sustainable Insurance, as well as the UN-convened net-zero alliances. We convene financial institutions to apply the industry frameworks on a voluntary basis and develop practical guidance and tools to position their businesses for the transition to a sustainable and inclusive economy.

For more information on UNEP FI, please visit: https://www.unepfi.org/

Media contact LAGreen
Merle Römer
Senior Manager Marketing & Communications
Phone: +49 (0)69 271 035-171
Email: info@lagreen.lu