Dentons advises Rakbank on first-ever public social bond

Dentons has advised The National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah P.S.C. (Rakbank) on its issuance of USD600 million 5.375 per cent Social Notes due 2029. The transaction was completed on July 25, 2024. The issuance was the first-ever public social bond issued by a bank in the GCC and was three times oversubscribed. Dentons also advised on the related October 10, 2023 update of Rakbank’s USD2 billion Euro Medium Term Note Programme.

The issuance was rated Baa1 by Moody’s and BBB+ by Fitch. It was admitted to trading on the International Securities Market of the London Stock Exchange and was offered to sophisticated investors outside the US in reliance on Regulation S under the US Securities Act of 1933.

Debt Capital Markets partner Alex Roussos, based in Dentons’ Dubai office, commented, “We are proud to have supported the bank on this milestone transaction, particularly bearing in mind the social context. ESG continues to be a major focus for most of our clients and this is now regularly demonstrated by their funding initiatives in the international and local capital markets. We believe this trend will continue throughout this year and next year”.

The Dentons team in Dubai was led by partner Alex Roussos, with assistance from senior legal consultant Katie Phillips, senior associate James Osun-Sanmi and senior associate Sana Siddiqui.