Bank of Ireland has raised €750 million through a new green Tier 2 bond, its fourth debt issuance of the year. The sale drew orders exceeding €5.8 billion from around 250 investors, more than seven times the amount ultimately allotted.

Bank of Ireland is listed on Euronext Dublin and the London Stock Exchange under ticker BIRG, and reported profit before tax of €960 million on total income of €2.18 billion for the first half of 2026. The bank's sustainable finance lending reached €19.3 billion at the end of June, up 25% year on year, as it works toward a target of €30 billion in sustainable finance by 2030.

The structural driver is tightening pricing on green-labelled bank capital instruments, as investor demand for Tier 2 debt from well-capitalised issuers with credible sustainable finance targets outpaces supply. Bank of Ireland said the bond secured the tightest credit spread ever achieved by an Irish bank on a Tier 2 issuance, with a fixed coupon of 4.75% over a ten-and-a-half-year maturity.

The transaction follows a €500 million green Tier 2 bond in January, a €750 million green senior bond in March and a $1 billion senior debt issuance in May, giving the bank four separate capital markets trips so far in 2026. Davy, BofA Securities, HSBC, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS acted as bookrunners.

Tony Morley, group treasurer at Bank of Ireland, said the deal "reflects strong investor confidence in its strategy, financial strength and long-term prospects" despite geopolitical uncertainty and market volatility. He added that the issuance "further supports our regulatory capital position, enabling us to continue lending to households and businesses" while advancing the bank's sustainable finance ambition.

For the sector, the tightest-ever Tier 2 spread for an Irish bank shows fixed income investors increasingly rewarding sustainability-linked capital structures with pricing advantages, not just headline oversubscription.

Source: rte.ie