BBVA €1 bn social bond in 2021 benefited around 4 million people

10 / 08 / 2022

By Marwa Nassar - -

Around four million people have potentially benefited from the social bond that BBVA issued in 2021, in a placement that amounted to 1 billion euros.

Almost 50% of the amount was allocated to the access to essential services category (health, education and financial services), followed by socioeconomic advancement and empowerment (37%), affordable basic infrastructure (12%) and affordable housing (0.6%).

Such is the conclusion of the 2021 Green and Social Bonds Report just published by the bank. The document details the environmental and social impact generated by the projects and loans that have been financed with the proceeds of the green and social bonds issued by BBVA, S.A. since 2018, amounting to a total of €5 billion, of which €3 billion were green bonds and €2 billion were social bonds.

The issuance of green and social bonds plays a key role in achieving BBVA’s sustainable objectives. Sustainable issuance allows the bank to support its customers’ transition to a low-carbon economy and their progressive alignment with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

As for the social bond issued in 2021, within the health subcategory, the bond has enabled the provision of 1,044 beds in hospitals and clinics and 184 places in nursing homes, with up to 2,159,014 potential beneficiaries. Under the area of education, 53,815 students have been helped.

In the affordable basic infrastructure section, the social bond has contributed to bringing broadband telecommunications services to more than 200,206 installations, 303,275 households and 4,975 companies. Overall, 814,580 people have potentially benefited.

Likewise, more than 762,000 people have benefited from funds allocated to socioeconomic advancement and empowerment, via financing for vulnerable or low-income groups. Finally, 31 families have benefited in the affordable housing category.

In total, almost four million people have potentially benefited from the social allocation of the funds raised by the BBVA bond issued in 2021.

The Green and Social Bonds Report also includes the social impact of ICO loans for the issuance of two COVID-19 bonds in 2020, for a combined value of 1 billion euros. 83% of the amount has been allocated to companies in sectors that have suffered a strong or significant impact of the pandemic, while 47% has been allocated to companies located in areas with greater potential for social impact. Up to 13,275 companies, with a total of 214,497 employees, have benefited from these loans.

On a final note, concerning the environmental loans and projects financed with the green bonds issued by BBVA, since 2018, a total of 3,666,415 tons of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere have been avoided, which is equivalent to the annual emissions of 1,451,471 cars. Additionally, the volume of water treated has been equivalent to the annual consumption of 412,965 citizens in Spain. 906,864 tons of waste were treated, equivalent to the waste generated by 2,051,729 people in a year.