As part of it describes as its commitment to sustainable development, Qatar National Bank Group (QNB) has announced that it has mandated six banks to work together as ‘Joint Lead Managers’ to arrange its first ever green bond issuance.

The banks chosen are Barclays Bank PLC, Crédit Agricole, HSBC, ING Bank N.V., QNB Capital LLC and Standard Chartered Bank. 

QNB and its subsidiaries in Egypt, Indonesia, Switzerland, Tunisia and Turkey, can issue three types of bonds: green, social and sustainability bonds.

Green bonds are a type of fixed-income instrument that is used to raise money for climate and environmental projects. The net proceeds of the bonds by QNB will be used to finance and refinance a green loan portfolio. The categories are: Green buildings, renewable energy, clean transportation, energy efficiency, environmentally sustainable management of living natural resources and land, sustainable water and wastewater management and finally pollution prevention and control. 

Green bonds started back in 2009 with The World Bank was the first to issue an official green bond. Last year around $157 billion worth of green bonds were issued worldwide.