Sectors
Sustainable Finance
It is widely accepted that the vast cost of transitioning to a sustainable and climate-resilient world economy is beyond the capacity of the public sector alone and that private capital will have to play a key role if sustainability objectives are to be met. In this context, the EU is developing harmonised standards for sustainable finance over the coming years and has already introduced significant legislation with respect to the meaning of sustainability and disclosure requirements. Further developments are anticipated, including with respect to non-financial reporting, corporate governance, and the supervisory and prudential framework to which financial institutions are subject. It is clear that the evolving EU framework will be relevant, directly or indirectly, to businesses both in the financial sector and the real economy. Understanding the rapidly developing legal and regulatory environment must be a strategic key priority for those businesses to enable them to continue to prosper.
Our Expertise
McCann FitzGerald is an acknowledged leader in the sustainable finance space in Ireland. As sustainable finance has become more innovative and diverse, McCann FitzGerald has kept pace, advising on many “firsts”, including the first green bond issued by an Irish corporate and the first sovereign green bond issued by Ireland (being one of the first in Europe).
Our sustainable finance knowledge and experience covers a range of industries, borrowers and issuers, banks, dealers/managers and financial intermediaries, investors and financial service providers.
As well as our extensive transactional experience, we are also leaders in the advisory space on sustainability matters and advise regulated entities including banks, asset managers and pension funds on the evolving regulatory landscape, as well as large corporates on what proposed changes to the corporate governance framework may mean for them. Further information is available from our experts listed below or your usual contact in McCann FitzGerald.
Key areas
- Debt capital markets advising issuers and arrangers on the issuance of green and sustainability-linked bonds and other financial instruments pursuing ESG objectives.
- Corporate lending advising borrowers and lenders on green and sustainability-linked loans and other lending products pursuing ESG objectives.
- Project finance in financing renewable and other sustainable and transition infrastructure projects.
- Asset managers and pension funds on the establishment of funds pursuing ESG strategies and their ongoing regulatory obligations under EU sustainability legislation.
- Credit institutions and other financial market participants on their financial services regulatory obligations under EU sustainability legislation, including the evolving supervisory and prudential framework.
Key highlights include:
- advising the National Treasury Management Agency on the landmark issuance of Ireland’s first sovereign green bond (€3 billion);
- acting for ESB on its first sustainability linked loan (€1.4 billion);
- acting on Ireland’s first corporate public Green Bond (ESB, €500 million) together with ESB’s subsequent Green Bond issuances;
- advising Kingspan on green loan and green private placement financings;
- advising the lenders on Greencore’s innovative £300 million corporate sustainability linked revolving credit facility;
- advising on a wide variety of wind farm acquisitions, including the recent purchase of Letteragh, Gortahile, and Lisdowney wind farms by Greencoat Renewables;
- advising managers and funds on recently introduced disclosure obligations under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and Taxonomy Regulation;
- providing ongoing advice to financial institutions with respect to the evolving regulatory landscape, including prudential and supervisory expectations with respect to the integration of ESG factors;
- advising listed and other large companies on the development and integration of sustainability strategies into the corporate governance framework and proposed EU changes to the corporate governance framework.
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