Cases & Deals

Financial institutions complete benchmark €4.5 billion Green OLO by Kingdom of Belgium

Client(s) Financial institutions

Jones Day assisted the financial institutions in connection with the issuance of a benchmark €4.5 billion 2.75% Green OLO due April 2039 (the “OLO 96”) by the Kingdom of Belgium. The term "OLO" refers to the Kingdom's “obligations linéaires”/“lineaire obligaties”. The bonds will be listed on Euronext Brussels. Belgium's rating is Aa3 (Moody's, stable), AA (S&P, stable), and AA- (Fitch, stable).

This is the second Green OLO launched by the Kingdom after its inaugural Green transaction in 2018. With this new transaction, the Kingdom creates a new liquid maturity on its curve and allows investors more options to invest in a Green sovereign instrument while enhancing further the Kingdom's commitment towards Climate Change mitigation, Biodiversity Conservation, and Preservation of Natural Resources.

The Kingdom of Belgium has recently updated its Green OLO Framework. In addition to its assessment of alignment to EU Taxonomy criteria for two economic activities, Moody's ESG considers the Kingdom of Belgium's Framework to be aligned with the four core components of the Green Bond Principles (2021) administered by ICMA, as well as having an “Advanced” overall contribution to sustainability.