Clifford Chance has advised Bpifrance on its inaugural issuance of EUR 1,250,000,000 social bonds. The social bonds are guaranteed by a first demand guarantee of the établissement public à caractère industriel et commercial Bpifrance and have a maturity of 4 years.
The net proceeds of the issuance are applied towards the financing of eligible social projects focused on reducing social inequalities and the development of French territories through the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). The eligible social projects satisfy the eligibility criteria set out in the Social Bond Framework of Bpifrance, in compliance with the Social Bond Principles as published by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA).
The banks on the deal were Barclays, BNP Paribas, BofA Securities Europe, Natixis and Société Générale.
The issuance of social bonds takes place following several green bond issuances by Bpifrance.
The Clifford Chance team was led by Jonathan Lewis (Partner), and consisted of Sophie Guilhem-Ducléon (Counsel), Jessica Hadid (Associate) and Thomas Guala Molino (Associate).
