First Abu Dhabi Bank issues region's inaugural blue bond

29/08/2025 02:26 AST

The First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has successfully issued a HKD390 million ($50 million) Blue Bond, a growing category of sustainable finance instruments, designed to advance and promote water-related environmental objectives.

As stewards of capital, financial institutions play a key role in mobilising funding toward the protection of marine ecosystems and sustainable water management, areas historically underfunded despite their global significance.

This transaction represents the first-ever Blue Bond issued by a financial institution in GCC.

The landmark five-year Blue Bond cements FAB's leadership in sustainable finance and aligns with the UAE's commitment to the strategic protection of vital water resources and the blue economy, said the bank in a statement.

The bond, issued via a private placement, was anchored by an Article 9 (Dark Green) investor who was seeking specific blue labelled instrument.

The Blue Bond is aligned with FAB's Sustainable Finance Framework 2023, and International Capital Market Association Green Bond Principles.

The Blue Bond issuance supports the UAE Water Agenda 2036 to promote innovation and sustainable infrastructure across critical marine ecosystems, said the statement.

It also aligns with the country's broader environmental objectives particularly as Abu Dhabi prepares to host the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Congress in October 2025, and as the UAE welcomes the United Nations Water Conference in December 2026, it stated.

As a regional pace setter, FAB has taken clear steps to accelerate positive environmental action, by continuously exploring ways to embed nature into the bank's agenda and drive meaningful impact through capital allocation.

Through this latest financial instrument, FAB is enabling capital flows toward projects that protect and restore ocean health, while fostering long-term environmental and economic resilience, it added.

Eligible projects in FAB's blue asset pool include, amongst others, sustainable water management (e.g. sustainable infrastructure for clean drinking water), climate change adaptation projects (e.g. conservation and rehabilitation of wetlands, mangroves and coral reefs), sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture and conservation of terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity.

FAB was supported by Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank as Sole Dealer in the execution of this pioneering transaction.

Shargiil Bashir, Chief Sustainability Officer at FAB said: "This Blue Bond issuance is a defining milestone for FAB and a first for any financial institution in the Gulf. It reflects our conviction that banks must do more than finance the future and we must actively shape it with the tools available to us."

"By directing capital to protect vital water resources and marine ecosystems, FAB is setting a precedent for sustainable finance in the region," he stated.

Tanguy Claquin, Global Head of Sustainability, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank: "We are proud to support First Abu Dhabi Bank as Sole Dealer on this landmark Blue Bond - a signal of the region's increasing focus on aligning financial innovation with global environmental priorities."

"First Abu Dhabi Bank continues to set an ambitious standard and pace for sustainability in the Middle East, and this transaction reflects the growing appetite from global asset managers to direct capital towards new frontiers in sustainable finance, such as the blue economy, nature and biodiversity," he added.

Trade Arabia