CIF Capital Markets Mechanism Makes Historic Debut with Inaugural $500 Million Bond
The debut CCMM bond, which was six times oversubscribed, marks the launch of a new era in climate finance.
The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Capital Markets Mechanism (CCMM), rated by Fitch and Moody’s (AA+/Aa1) made its market debut on 14 January as an innovative issuer focused on mobilising finance for climate action and sustainable development. Its inaugural bond raised $500mn on the back of an orderbook totaling more than $3bn from investors around the world. The 3-year bond is the first issuance under CCMM’s borrowing program, following the announcement of its listing in November 2024 at COP29.
CCMM accelerates climate funding by frontloading future reflows from CIF’s Clean Technology Fund (CTF) funded operations. The World Bank acts as CCMM’s Treasury Manager, as well as Trustee and host of the Secretariat for the CIF.
Final pricing was fixed at +36.6 basis points over the 3-year U.S. Treasury, which resulted in a re-offer semi-annual yield of 4.838% and re-offer price of 99.757% for the bonds. The bond will be listed on the International Securities Market of the London Stock Exchange.
Asset managers, insurance companies, and pension funds account for 51% of the investor distribution, followed by central banks and official institutions at 36%, and banks, bank treasuries, and corporates at 13%. Geographically, 64% of investors are located in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region, 31% in the Americas, and 5% in Asia.
Introduced at COP26, CCMM supports CTF projects in developing countries, focusing on low-carbon technologies such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport, green supply chains, and industry decarbonisation. CTF aims to address the significant financing gap for energy transitions by mobilising capital at scale and directing it towards high-impact programs. CIF funding is exclusively channeled through six triple A-rated multilateral development banks (MDBs) who act as implementing entities of the CTF.
Tariye Gbadegesin, CEO of Climate Investment Funds, commented, “Today is a historic moment for climate finance. The inaugural CCMM bond issue has exceeded all expectations, with our order book over six times over-subscribed. This is an enormous vote of confidence and a sign of the keen market interest in backing high-quality clean energy projects. These bonds will multiply the funds available for scaling-up clean technology and infrastructure in developing countries – not in ten years, but now, when it’s most critically needed.”
Anshula Kant, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer at World Bank Group, said, “We are grateful for the global support from investors to successfully launch this inaugural bond. By helping mobilise private capital, this ambitious program will contribute financing to clean energy projects and investments in emerging economies, building a sustainable future for all.”
