Hogan Lovells advises banks on the placement of the first EU Green Bond of a German bank

On 12 November 2025, the Senior Preferred Notes with an issuance volume of EUR 500 million were issued both as an EU Green Bond in accordance with the EU Green Bond Standard and as an ICMA Green Bond in accordance with the ICMA Green Bond Principles. The EU Green Bond features a term of 5.25 years, an issue price of 99.533 per cent. and an interest coupon of 2.875 percent p.a. 

Based on the portfolio approach, the proceeds from the EU Green Bond will be used to refinance loans for the construction and operation of wind and solar power plants in Germany, including non-financial assets, capital expenditures (CapEx), and operating expenditures (OpEx). The intended environmental objective in accordance with the Taxonomy Regulation is climate protection. DKB had previously published the factsheet required by the EU Green Bond Standard and subjected it to a pre-issuance review by an external reviewer. The factsheet also contains more details on the selection and evaluation of environmentally sustainable economic activities and the taxonomy-aligned use of proceeds. Detailed information on the allocation and impact of the proceeds will be published after the issuance in the allocation and impact report for EU Green Bonds.

This transaction is one of many transactions of DKB on which the Hogan Lovells team advised on the side of the banks. Previously, the Hogan Lovells team had also advised DKB on the update of the first base prospectus approved by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFin) for the issuance of EU Green Bonds in accordance with the EU Green Bond Standard.

Hogan Lovells team for the banks

Dr. Jochen Seitz (Partner), Dr. Stefan Wollmert-Schrewe (Counsel), Anna Hersener (Associate), Lena Markert (Associate) (all Capital Markets, Frankfurt)