TORONTO, July 19, 2019 /CNW/ - The Bank of Nova
Scotia (BNS or the Bank) announced today the closing of its
inaugural USD 500 million 3.5-year
Green Bond offering (the Green Bonds), boosting its commitment to
Sustainable Business and creating a better future for all.
The net proceeds from the Green Bond offering will be used to
fund the financing or refinancing, in whole or in part, of eligible
green assets, which refer to new or existing assets, businesses or
projects that meet the Scotiabank Green Bond Framework Eligibility
Criteria, including renewable energy, clean transportation and
green buildings. Other areas of investment may include sustainable
water and wastewater management, environmentally sustainable
management of living natural resources and land use, energy
efficiency, terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity conservation, and
pollution prevention and control.
"This Green Bond offering marks a major milestone for
Scotiabank," said Tom McGuire,
Executive Vice President and Group Treasurer at Scotiabank. "It
will bring more diversity to our investor base and strengthen our
commitment to a sustainable future."
This Green Bond offering is a natural next step in Scotiabank's
Sustainable Business strategy, which was launched in March 2018 with the goal of creating economic,
social and environmental value for its customers, employees,
communities and the planet, while also delivering returns for its
shareholders. Other environmental achievements to date include:
- Setting a global target to achieve 10% reduction in Scope 1 and
2 GHG emissions by 2021 (based on 2016 levels). To date Scotiabank
is 90% of the way towards meeting this target
- Implementing an internal carbon price in 2018 ($15/tonne of C02). Scotiabank reinvests that
money into energy efficiency initiatives such as HVAC replacement
and solar panel installation to help meet GHG reduction
targets
- Supporting a low-carbon economy through providing financing for
the renewable energy sector, increasing from $4.7 billion in 2017 to $8.5 billion in 2018
- Reporting sustainability results annually to CDP since
2004
- Supporting the Task Force on Climate-related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD). Initial disclosures can be found in
Scotiabank's 2018 Annual Report and 2018 Sustainable Business
Report.
- Participating as a member, signatory or participant of the
following: UN Global Compact, UNEP Finance Initiative, Carbon
Pricing Leadership Coalition, Equator Principles, and Principles
for Responsible Investing (PRI), amongst others.
BNS launched its Green Bond Framework in June 2019. The framework has received a
Second-Party Opinion from Sustainalytics, a global leader in ESG
and Corporate Governance research and ratings, and is in line with
the four core pillars of the Green Bond Principles as administered
by the International Capital Market Association.
"The global green economy is growing," said Bob Nguyen, MD & Head Corporate Fixed Income
Origination, Global Banking and Markets at Scotiabank.
"Scotiabank's inaugural Green Bond offering will help to meet the
growing demand to fund, finance, and build sustainable assets that
have positive environmental benefits while matching investors'
ever-expanding appetite for green financial products."
"We all have an important role to play in protecting our
environment for current and future generations, to ensure that
everyone can become better off," said Meigan Terry, Senior Vice President, Global
Communications, Sustainability and Social Enterprise at Scotiabank.
"This inaugural Green Bond offering helps Scotiabank put into
practice the commitments we have made to a sustainable future."
Additional Information
- This offering was the first issuance of a Green Bond by the
Bank. The Green Bonds will bear interest at a fixed rate of 2.375%
and will mature on January 18, 2023.
The Green Bonds constitute deposit liabilities of BNS pursuant to
the Bank Act (Canada), are
unsubordinated and unsecured obligations of the Bank and rank
pari passu with all present or future deposit liabilities of
the Bank and without any preference amongst themselves (except as
otherwise prescribed by law and subject to the exercise of bank
resolution powers).
- The Green Bonds are bail-inable notes. Bail-inable notes are
subject to conversion in whole or in part – by means of a
transaction or series of transactions and in one or more steps –
into common shares of the Bank or any of its affiliates under
subsection 39.2(2.3) of the Canada Deposit Incorporation Act
(CDIC Act) and to variation or extinguishment in consequence, and
subject to the application of the laws of the Province of
Ontario and the federal laws of
Canada applicable therein in
respect of the operation of the CDIC Act with respect to the Green
Bonds.
- The offering was done on a firm commitment basis by a syndicate
co-led by Scotiabank Global Banking & Markets. The offering
closed on July 18, 2019.
- The Bank has filed, in the U.S., a prospectus supplement to its
December 26, 2018 base shelf
prospectus. A copy of this document as well as the base shelf
prospectus can be obtained at www.edgar.com
About Scotiabank
Financial services support economic progress, allow people to
pursue ambitions and create more widespread future opportunities.
Scotiabank will deliver on this through our focus on Sustainable
Business. By paying careful attention to the areas where we feel we
can have the biggest impact, we create economic, social and
environmental value for our customers, employees, communities and
our planet, while also delivering returns for our shareholders.
Scotiabank's Sustainable Business strategy highlights four areas
where the Bank can make the biggest difference: Trust, Climate
Change, Economic Inclusion and Young People. To read more about our
Sustainable Business strategy visit
www.scotiabank.com/sustainability.
Scotiabank is Canada's
international bank and a leading financial services provider in the
Americas. We are dedicated to helping our 25 million customers
become better off through a broad range of advice, products and
services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth
management and private banking, corporate and investment banking,
and capital markets. With a team of more than 99,000 employees and
assets of over $1 trillion (as at
April 30, 2019), Scotiabank trades on
the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com
and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.
SOURCE Scotiabank