Dubai’s biggest bank to raise $1.75bn in Gulf’s first ‘sustainable loan’

DUBAI: Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest bank, plans to raise $1.75 billion in the Gulf region’s first sustainability-linked loan to refinance existing debt, Bloomberg reported.
Nearly 20 banks are participating in the loan which links sustainability metrics including gender diversity in top management roles and water conservation, the news wire said, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
A spokesperson for the Dubai lender declined to comment.
Sustainability-linked loans tie deal spreads to borrowers’ performance in environmental, social and governance goals that can be measured by key performance indicators or external ESG ratings, Bloomberg said.
Under this kind of structure, companies pay less if they hit specific goals or more if they miss targets.