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28 August 2025

First Abu Dhabi Bank Becomes First Financial Institution ‎in the Gulf to Issue a Blue Bond

HKD 390 million blue bond issuance positions FAB at the forefront of sustainable ‎finance


Abu Dhabi, 28 August 2025: ‎First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE’s Global bank, and one of the world’s largest and safest ‎financial institutions, has successfully issued a HKD 390 million (USD 50 million) 5-year Blue ‎Bond. This transaction represents the first-ever Blue Bond issued by a financial institution in ‎the Gulf countries. This landmark issuance cements FAB’s leadership in sustainable finance and ‎aligns with the UAE’s commitment to the strategic protection of vital water resources and the ‎blue economy. ‎

The bond, issued via a private placement, was anchored by an Article 9 (“Dark Green”) investor ‎who was seeking specific blue labelled instrument. The Blue Bond is aligned with FAB’s ‎Sustainable Finance Framework 2023, and International Capital Market Association Green ‎Bond Principles. ‎

The Blue Bond issuance supports the UAE Water Agenda 2036 to promote innovation and ‎sustainable infrastructure across critical marine ecosystems. It also aligns with the country’s ‎broader environmental objectives particularly as Abu Dhabi prepares to host the International ‎Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Congress in October 2025, and as the UAE welcomes ‎the United Nations Water Conference in December 2026.‎

Blue bonds are a growing category of sustainable finance instruments, designed to advance ‎and promote water-related environmental objectives. As stewards of capital, financial ‎institutions play a key role in mobilising funding toward the protection of marine ecosystems ‎and sustainable water management, areas historically underfunded despite their global ‎significance. ‎

As a regional pace setter, FAB has taken clear steps to accelerate positive environmental action, ‎by continuously exploring ways to embed nature into the bank’s agenda and drive meaningful ‎impact through capital allocation. Through this latest financial instrument, FAB is enabling ‎capital flows toward projects that protect and restore ocean health, while fostering long-term ‎environmental and economic resilience.‎

Eligible projects in FAB’s blue asset pool include, amongst others, sustainable water ‎management (e.g. sustainable infrastructure for clean drinking water), climate change ‎adaptation projects (e.g. conservation and rehabilitation of wetlands, mangroves and coral ‎reefs), sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture and conservation of terrestrial ‎and aquatic biodiversity.‎

FAB was supported by Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank as Sole Dealer in the ‎execution of this pioneering transaction.‎

Shargiil Bashir, Chief Sustainability Officer at FAB said: ‎“This Blue Bond issuance is a defining milestone for FAB and a first for any financial institution ‎in the Gulf. It reflects our conviction that banks must do more than finance the future and we ‎must actively shape it with the tools available to us. By directing capital to protect vital water ‎resources and marine ecosystems, FAB is setting a precedent for sustainable finance in the ‎region. This marks another achievement in our journey to drive sustainable development in ‎the UAE and beyond, and it also reinforces the nation’s global leadership on climate and ‎biodiversity, as it prepares to host two major summits, the IUCN Congress in Abu Dhabi and the ‎UN Water Conference in 2026 and we are privileged to be at the forefront of this critical ‎transition”.‎

Tanguy Claquin, Global Head of Sustainability, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank: ‎‎“Crédit Agricole CIB is proud to support First Abu Dhabi Bank as Sole Dealer on this landmark ‎Blue Bond – a signal of the region’s increasing focus on aligning financial innovation with ‎global environmental priorities. First Abu Dhabi Bank continues to set an ambitious standard ‎and pace for sustainability in the Middle East, and this transaction reflects the growing ‎appetite from global asset managers to direct capital towards new frontiers in sustainable ‎finance, such as the blue economy, nature and biodiversity.”‎