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ABU DHABI / WAM
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has successfully issued and settled AED1 billion 3-year Digitally Native Green Notes, becoming the first digital green bond from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The landmark issuance brings together sustainable finance and digital capital markets infrastructure, reinforcing FAB’s commitment to financial innovation and its role in shaping the future of the region’s capital markets.
The notes were priced on 13th October 2026 at an interest rate of 5.75 percent and settled today through Euroclear’s Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (D-FMI). They will mature on 15th October 2029. The transaction also builds on FAB’s track record in digital capital markets and will mark its second digital bond listing on ADX, following its inaugural digital bond issuance in 2025. FAB remains the only issuer with digital bonds listed on ADX. The issuance also builds on FAB’s broader sustainable and transition finance commitment. As of H1 2026, the bank had facilitated AED395 billion in sustainable and transition financing, achieving 79 percent of its AED500 billion target for 2030.
Lars Kramer, Group Chief Financial Officer at FAB, said, “The future of finance must be both sustainable and innovative. With MENA’s first digitally native green bond, FAB is bringing these priorities together and setting a new benchmark for the region’s capital markets. “Building on our inaugural digital bond in 2025, we are demonstrating how digital infrastructure can advance sustainable finance through greater automation and more efficient execution. This reflects our commitment to developing financing solutions that support the transition to a low-carbon economy and reinforce the UAE’s leadership in financial innovation.”
Euroclear’s D-FMI uses distributed ledger technology to facilitate the issuance, distribution and settlement of digitally native securities. Its connectivity with established secondary market services enables issuers and investors to benefit from digital innovation while maintaining access to familiar market infrastructure.
First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Digitally Native Notes Structurers. Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, HSBC Bank plc, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Joint Lead Managers.
Citibank N.A., London Branch acted as Fiscal Agent and Digitally Native Notes Agent. Dentons & Co. acted as legal counsel to the issuer, while Allen Overy Shearman Sterling LLP acted as legal counsel to the Joint Lead Managers.