Ashurst advised an international banking consortium comprising Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank as well as DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main (technical lead) on the successful issuance of an environmental bond by NRW.BANK. The NRW.BANK Green Bond will serve to refinance environmentally-friendly water and energy projects in North Rhine-Westphalia. The bond matures on 28 November 2017, has a volume of €250 million and pays interest at a rate of 0.75 per cent per annum. Investors particularly from Germany, the Netherlands, France and Switzerland, who have a particular focus on sustainability, subscribed to the loan.

The Ashurst team was led by Frankfurt-based partner Christoph Enderstein. He was supported by associate Christian Pieper (both Debt Capital Markets/DCM).

The German DCM practice of Ashurst advises both investment banks and issuers in connection with national and international capital market transactions, in particular regarding bonds, securitised derivatives, German Schuldschein loans and debt issuance programmes as well as on related regulatory matters.

According to a survey carried out by financial services information provider Thomson Reuters, the DCM team headed by Christoph Enderstein was the most active legal adviser in 2012 in connection with bond issues in Germany.