The green bonds were issued under the Funding for Growth Scheme (“Növekedési Kötvényprogram” or “NKP”) established by the Hungarian National Bank, and funds raised as a result will be used solely for environmentally friendly projects and assets.
WING is one of Hungary’s leading real estate developers and investors, having developed over 1.2 million square miles of real estate in Hungary since its founding in 1999. Its issuance of the green bonds was supported by its cooperating partner MKB Consulting Zrt, a complex financial advisor that helps its partners to contribute to a greener and more sustainable economy.
Szabó Kelemen & Partners Andersen Attorneys advised MTB Bank as lead manager on covering the issuance. The Szabó Kelemen & Partners Andersen legal team included managing partner Péter Vincze. Kapolyi advised WING on the issuance with a team including partner Viktor Krezinger.
Lawyer Monthly had the pleasure to speak with Dr. Péter Vincze at Szabó Kelemen & Partners Andersen Attorneys to give us some further insight into this transaction:
Please tell us more about your team’s involvement with the bond issuance.
The documentation of the bonds was basically drafted by the legal advisor of the issuer (Kapolyi) and our team supported the legal compliance with the expectations of the lead manager (MTB Bank) and the potential investors and provided them a second opinion about the documentation. In addition, some supporting documents (paying agency agreement and lead manager agreement) were prepared by our team.
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What matters did you assist on?
Andersen Legal helped to harmonise the bond documentation with NKP Prospectus and, furthermore, supported the negotiations with the Hungarian National Bank. We prepared the necessary banking documentation (as mentioned above) and helped MTB in the auction process and issuance of the bonds.
Did you encounter any challenges along the way? If so, how did you overcome them?
The legal advisor of the issuer (Kapolyi) was extremely professional and the issuance process was well prepared and professionally managed. All challenges were properly managed by the issuer and its advisors, so our team was able to fulfil its basic tasks.
Do you expect to see any more deals similar to this one in 2022?
Yes, we see more ESG and green label-related potential issuance in the pipeline as the need to disclose ESG performance accelerates, enabling financial institutions and insurers to evaluate companies’ ESG performance and pushing investment towards sustainability-focused companies.
What else are you working on in the final months of the year?
MTB Bank and MKB Bank are very active and serious players in the capital market and especially in the NKP bond market, so several new bond auctions can be expected by the end of this year.
