La Banque Postale and its subsidiaries, LBP AM and CNP Assurances, announced today the launch of a €1 billion impact infrastructure debt fund, aimed at financing energy transition-focused projects in Europe.
According to La Banque Postale, the new impact debt fund, classified as Article 8 under the SFDR regulation, will provide long-term support for projects that make a substantial contribution to mitigating climate change or are committed to decarbonizing their operations. It will be deployed over a three-year period.
Key focus areas for the fund will include renewable energy, circular economy, clean transport and energy efficiency, as well as innovatve sectors such as e-mobility, green hydrogen and energy storage.
Bertrand Cousin, Head of Corporate and Investment Banking at La Banque Postale, said:
“This initiative is part of our strategy to promote impact finance and is in line with the commitments made by La Banque Postale with regard to the objectives of a mission-led company. I am thrilled with this project, which is a further illustration of the synergies being developed within the major public financial centre.”
Olivier Guigné, Group Chief Investment Officer at CNP Assurances, added:
“This fund demonstrates a perfect alignment around our shared values and our commitment to an inclusive and sustainable society. As a responsible investor, this initiative contributes to CNP Assurances’ objective of reaching €30bn in green investments by the end of 2025 and more than €1bn in impact investments by the end of 2025. With this investment, our total impact financing commitments now exceed €1.5bn. Infrastructure debt is an attractive asset class because of its return potential and the diversification it provides in the portfolio. This helps to meet our long-term commitments to our policyholders.”