Banco Agrícola: Leading the Way with the First Blue Bond Issuance in El Salvador

The project involves a potential public issuance of sustainable bonds in El Salvador by Banco Agrícola, S.A. (hereinafter “Banco Agrícola” or the “Bank”) amounting to US$200 million. The funds obtained from the placement of each tranche will be invested by the Bank for financing short, medium, and long-term credit operations, as indicated in the Sustainable Framework of the BSOBA1 issuance prospectus. Each tranche will specify the fund usage category for which it is issued, which may be structured with blue usage and destination. Please note that all issues must be authorized by the Superintendency of the Financial System and registered on a stock exchange in El Salvador.

The first issuance under the program is expected to have a blue focus and may be subscribed as follows: (i) IDB Invest may subscribe up to a total of US$15 million; and (ii) in conjunction with local and international co-investors, it may subscribe a total of up to US$25 million. The resources will be allocated to expand the Bank’s blue-focused investments, and the use of funds will allow the issuance to be labeled as blue, in accordance with the International Capital Market Association (“ICMA”) Thematic Bond Principles.

The project was accompanied by a Technical Advisory (“TA”) to support the Bank in its preparation for a future thematic issuance, including the identification and segmentation of the blue portfolio, the development of the sustainable framework, and the acquisition of Second Party Opinions (“SPOs”).