The SNCF Group issues the first Green Bond with Shared Coupon for the Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute, supported by the Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris Foundation

This innovative green bond from SNCF Group combines the issuer’s ESG objectives with a charitable financial return for investors and aligns stakeholders with the principle of sharing. At the end of 12 years, the Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute (Institut Robert-Debré du cerveau de l'enfant | Hôpital Robert-Debré AP-HP (aphp.fr)) will have received a total of EUR 2.31 million in donations. This innovation provides a complementary source of funding for non-profit organizations and companies involved in social or environmental protection.

The donations made by SNCF Group, Natixis CIB and investors are assigned to the purchase of medical equipment for the Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute alongside the sponsorship component by the AP-HP Foundation.  By reserving a minority part of its yield and pooling it, it is possible to support social action, such as the financing of medical equipment for the Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute, while remaining, for investors, within the yield standards of a green bond.

This green bond has been placed with a limited number of investors including Abeille Assurances, Caisse des Dépôts and CNP Assurances, who are recognized for their commitment to social and environmental protection and development. By subscribing to this first issuance, investors intend to contribute to the success and development of this new financing method.

SNCF Group is a pioneer in Green Bonds, with its first transaction dating back to 2016. To date, the Group has more than €9.9 billion in outstanding Green Bonds. More specifically, SNCF’s Green Bonds are “Climate” Bonds, based on saving greenhouse gas emissions and complying with the Green Bond Principles issued by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), as well as the Climate Bond Initiative’s principles. Through this instrument, between 2016 and the end of 2022, the Group saved more than 37.8 million tons of CO2 over 40 years.

All documentation relating to this Green Bond program (Green Securities Framework, Second Party Opinion, Climate Bond Initiative certification, Green Bond investor presentation, etc.) is available on the SNCF Group website: https://www.sncf.com/fr/groupe/finance/relations-investisseurs

The Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute is a major player in research, care and innovation for the well-being of children and families. Established at the Assises de la Santé Mentale et de la Psychiatrie in September 2021 by the President of the French Republic, the Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute aims to respond to all the vulnerabilities of a child’s cognitive development bringing together internationally recognized teams of clinicians and researchers, within the framework of a unique partnership between AP-HP, CEA, Inserm, CNRS, Institut Pasteur and Université Paris Cité.

The aim is to develop a world-leading institute of excellence alongside the Child Brain Institute in New York at King’s College London or the Center of Developing Child at Harvard.

This project is co-led by Professor Richard Delorme, head of the child psychiatry department at the Robert-Debré AP-HP hospital, Professor Pierre Gressens, director of research at INSERM and Professor Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz, director of the NeuroSpin developmental neuro-imaging laboratory at the CEA, as well as Professor Thomas Bourgeron of the Institut Pasteur.

A new five-storey building, EUR 40 million of which is being financed by the State, will be built within the Robert-Debré hospital in direct connection with the current premises. Scheduled to open in 2027, it will house care units, new research technology platforms and spaces dedicated to start-ups to foster innovation and excellence.

This Institute is particularly anticipated as public policies around childhood, even though they have been favored in recent years (1000 days program, mental health and psychiatry roadmap, autism plan), are still insufficient in France. One in every six children suffers from neurodevelopment disorders, one in five lives below the poverty line and one in five suffers from academic difficulties.

In May 2023, the Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute was the winner of the Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) – Wave 3 call for projects under the France 2030 programme and will receive EUR 20 million from the State (https://www.aphp.fr/contenu/linstitut-robert-debre-du-cerveau-de-lenfant-un-institut-hospitalo-universitaire-ihu-pour). This is recognition of the excellence of its teams and the ambition of the project which is starting now.

Transaction Summary:

“We are particularly proud to be at the origin of the creation, structuring and placement of this new issuance, alongside the issuer and committed investors. This inaugural Shared Coupon Bond is the culmination of several months of work between the teams at SNCF Group, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, the AP-HP Foundation, the members of the Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute and the investors. Natixis CIB integrates environmental and social objectives into all of its expertise and supports its clients in their transition journeys. With this Shared Coupon Bond, Natixis CIB is affirming its capacity for innovation in service of environmental and social transition challenges, by promoting public-private partnerships,” says Mohamed KALLALA. Global Head of Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking.

“The teams from the Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute, brought together by the AP-HP, the Inserm, the CEA, the Université Paris Cité, the Institut Pasteur, and hosted by the AP-HP Foundation, are honored to receive the trust and support of prestigious partners such as SNCF, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, Abeille Assurances, Caisse des Dépôts and CNP Assurances. These donations will enable the acquisition of state-of-the-art medical equipment, such as the latest generation of imaging equipment capable of advancing the understanding of the developing brain to improve the health, education, and well-being of children,” explains Professor Richard DELORME, co-founder of the Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute and head of the child psychiatry department of the Robert-Debré AP-HP hospital.

“The AP-HP Foundation is very proud to support the creation of the Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute, one of the major pediatric medical platforms in Europe. The donations that this new institute will receive will make it possible to create a strong and multidisciplinary dynamic around research on the developing brain, children’s neuro-development and neuro-education, and this will benefit the greatest number of people,” stresses Valérie ROGE. Chairman of the AP-HP Foundation.

“We are delighted with this private placement issuance, which is fully in line with the SNCF Group’s financing strategy.  It demonstrates our capacity for innovation and our willingness to contribute to the development of the green finance market. We wanted this instrument to be used for the benefit of structures such as the AP-HP and are delighted with the confidence that investors have granted us”, says Laurent TREVISANI, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Finance & Strategy of SNCF Group.

“We are very pleased with the success of the SNCF shared coupon issuance, and to have been able to work on its launch. This innovative project has a dual interest: (1) supporting the Child Brain Institute in its development and (2) initiating a new type of asset for which issuers, banks and investors agree on a coupon-sharing principle in favour of a project with tangible impact t. This investment is fully in line with Abeille Assurances' overall sustainable investment strategy, both for climate and biodiversity, and in its commitments to social impact,” says Thomas RIVRON, Chief of Investments Abeille Assurances.

“The Caisse des Dépôts is pleased to have participated in this pioneering and innovative green bond sharing-coupon transaction alongside SNCF and Natixis CIB, and thus to foster the emergence of a new market segment.  This green SNCF bond will contribute to the continuing increase in portfolio exposure to ESG, green and social bonds, which is more than €11 billion. CDC’s asset management continues to contribute to the CDC Group’s commitments to finance green transformation.­­ The social innovation aimed at sharing the coupons collected, here for the AP-HP Foundation, for the needs of the Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute, is part of the CDC Group’s commitment to social cohesion and health,” says Pascal CORET, Deputy Chief of Investment Management, in charge of the bond segments within the asset management department of the Caisse des Dépôts.

“By allowing us to donate 0.05% of its annual return to the new Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute, this green bond with a shared coupon is completely in line with our purpose, which encourages us to act for an inclusive and sustainable society. A true financial innovation, it also contributes to our goal of reaching EUR 30 billion in green investments by the end of 2025 by contributing to the financing of SNCF environmental projects.” said Olivier GUIGNE, Group Chief of Investments and Head of the Engineering and Wealth Management BU of CNP Assurances.