BNP Paribas has been named lead manager of the year for green bonds corporate, one of two Bond Awards taken home by the banking giant for their work in 2019.

Last June, BNP Paribas acted as a structuring advisor and joint lead manager for German company BayWa's first green bond, raising €500 million. The proceeds will be used to finance new and existing wind and solar power plants around the world.

BNP Paribas also acted as global coordinator for the second tap of the green Sukuk (sharia compliant) market from Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) – one of the largest developers and operators of shopping malls and hypermarkets across the Middle East and North Africa. The transaction attracted a orderbook of €2.1 billion, meaning that it was 3.7 times oversubscribed. The net proceeds will be used to finance and refinance MAF's existing and future green projects, including green buildings, renewable energy, sustainable water management, and energy efficiency.

In 2019, BNP Paribas also increased its market share in North America, including through the significant US corporate transactions, such as a $700 million issuance from Duke Energy Florida in November.

Also in November, Austrian wood-based cellulose fibers producer Lenzing was one of the first companies worldwide to issue, with BNP Paribas acting as arranger, an ESG-linked 'Schuldschein' (a form of debt instrument similar to a bond) with maturities of five, seven and 10 years, with the intention of raising €200 million ($222 million). For this type of instrument, the interest is linked to Lenzing's performance in the area of sustainability and is annually reviewed and assessed by an independent sustainability agency.

BNP Paribas is the working group coordinator in two projects that are part of the Green Bond Principles: the Research Working Group and the Green Projects Eligibility Working Group.