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<body>Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not a new topic for discussion. However, there is a pivotal step that many have missed before the evolution really began – how will our infrastructure enable this next big step of digital evolution?To put it simply, data centres are buildings that host all the information you process online, from questions you ask AI to cloud storage. To provide the complex computing power and storage functionalities required to train and deliver AI, we need a data centre network as a backbone for the rapidly evolving digital economy.That brings us to the next question – how are we going to facilitate the exponential growth of AI and the digital economy, which is entirely reliant on data centres? This growth in data centre demand will require a substantial volume of capital investment for the buildout.<a @href="Q1">Q1</a><subtitle-block>Funding data centre buildout</subtitle-block>Gathering billions of funding within a relatively short period of time is not a straightforward process – it requires specially designed solutions and access to a variety of credit and debt financing sources including project finance, securitisation and private credit, to accumulate sufficient investment. Banks play a critical role in this complicated process – they can help tailor suitable financing structures and tap the right liquidity pools, such as seeking funds from private debt providers or issuing credit facilities themselves, and line up independent credit rating and legal reviews for funding.One of the most successful data centre companies that has been able to secure capital from the bank market is Australian-founded AirTrunk. The company has the largest hyperscale centre platform in Asia-Pacific and Japan (excluding mainland China). To date, AirTrunk has raised over A$6 billion in ESG financing, making it one of the largest issuers of sustainable financing in the global data centre industry.Data centres around the world are looking to decarbonise their emissions while expanding to cater to global demand. Reaching out to partners with deep sector knowledge like Crédit Agricole CIB brings advantages as they can customise innovative financing solutions with specific features to support decarbonisation trajectories. When designed thoughtfully, sustainable finance can also address ESG priorities beyond climate goals, such as diversity and community engagement.<a @href="https://www.ca-cib.com/en/news/asia-pacific-trailblazes-esg-adoption-and-innovation-amongst-global-data-centre-operators">Read more: How the world’s global carbon footprint is being impacted by our technology advancement globally, and how every step we take to decarbonise data centre industry emissions has an impact</a><a @href="Q2">Q2</a>As time goes by, rating agencies are getting more comfortable with the reliable, long-term cash flow generated from the underlying customer contracts, leading to more data operators, especially in the Americas, securitising the offtake contracts and thereby opening up a new avenue for data centre financing.  <subtitle-block>A global phenomenon</subtitle-block>Beyond the Americas, which is often considered as the hub for data centres, there has also been a surge of build-out of data centres in Asia-Pacific, spurred by digitalisation of local economies and a deep talent pool for data centre operation.In 2023, Crédit Agricole CIB supported AirTrunk in issuing the world’s largest data centre sustainability-linked loan in history. The transaction featured innovative industry-specific environmental key performance indicators (KPIs) such as carbon, energy and water efficiency, as well as gender diversity and pay equity to align the company’s human development goals. Within the same year, the Bank has helped at least three other data centres in Asia-Pacific – AirTrunk in Australia, Digital Edge (Singapore) in South Korea, and ESR in Hong Kong – in exploring ways to achieve sustainable growth while implementing their ESG objectives.AirTrunk has adopted sustainable financing to ensure it scales responsibly as the demand for AI and cloud computing skyrockets. With sustainability at the heart of both its financing and operations, linking financing to its sustainability strategy has been one of the key differentiators for AirTrunk in successfully securing large volumes of capital from the bank market. AirTrunk has gone a step further, investing the margin incentives from its sustainability-linked loans (from the achievement of its loan KPIs) into its social impact programme to deliver material and lasting benefit to the community.To ensure accountability and transparency, AirTrunk has developed a comprehensive sustainable financing framework outlining the rationale of the KPIs included in their sustainability-linked loan.<a @href="Q3">Q3</a><a @href="Q4">Q4</a></body>

<body>Data centres around the world are looking to decarbonise their emissions while expanding to cater to global demand. </body>

Growth-powering strategy: Data centre financing for a sustainable future

Green finance

<body>Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not a new topic for discussion. However, there is a pivotal step that many have missed before the evolution really began – how will our infrastructure enable this next big step of digital evolution?To put it simply, data centres are buildings that host all the information you process online, from questions you ask AI to cloud storage. To provide the complex computing power and storage functionalities required to train and deliver AI, we need a data centre network as a backbone for the rapidly evolving digital economy.That brings us to the next question – how are we going to facilitate the exponential growth of AI and the digital economy, which is entirely reliant on data centres? This growth in data centre demand will require a substantial volume of capital investment for the buildout.<a href="Q1">Q1</a><subtitle-block>Funding data centre buildout</subtitle-block>Gathering billions of funding within a relatively short period of time is not a straightforward process – it requires specially designed solutions and access to a variety of credit and debt financing sources including project finance, securitisation and private credit, to accumulate sufficient investment. Banks play a critical role in this complicated process – they can help tailor suitable financing structures and tap the right liquidity pools, such as seeking funds from private debt providers or issuing credit facilities themselves, and line up independent credit rating and legal reviews for funding.One of the most successful data centre companies that has been able to secure capital from the bank market is Australian-founded AirTrunk. The company has the largest hyperscale centre platform in Asia-Pacific and Japan (excluding mainland China). To date, AirTrunk has raised over A$6 billion in ESG financing, making it one of the largest issuers of sustainable financing in the global data centre industry.Data centres around the world are looking to decarbonise their emissions while expanding to cater to global demand. Reaching out to partners with deep sector knowledge like Crédit Agricole CIB brings advantages as they can customise innovative financing solutions with specific features to support decarbonisation trajectories. When designed thoughtfully, sustainable finance can also address ESG priorities beyond climate goals, such as diversity and community engagement.<a href="https://www.ca-cib.com/en/news/asia-pacific-trailblazes-esg-adoption-and-innovation-amongst-global-data-centre-operators">Read more: How the world’s global carbon footprint is being impacted by our technology advancement globally, and how every step we take to decarbonise data centre industry emissions has an impact</a><a href="Q2">Q2</a>As time goes by, rating agencies are getting more comfortable with the reliable, long-term cash flow generated from the underlying customer contracts, leading to more data operators, especially in the Americas, securitising the offtake contracts and thereby opening up a new avenue for data centre financing.  <subtitle-block>A global phenomenon</subtitle-block>Beyond the Americas, which is often considered as the hub for data centres, there has also been a surge of build-out of data centres in Asia-Pacific, spurred by digitalisation of local economies and a deep talent pool for data centre operation.In 2023, Crédit Agricole CIB supported AirTrunk in issuing the world’s largest data centre sustainability-linked loan in history. The transaction featured innovative industry-specific environmental key performance indicators (KPIs) such as carbon, energy and water efficiency, as well as gender diversity and pay equity to align the company’s human development goals. Within the same year, the Bank has helped at least three other data centres in Asia-Pacific – AirTrunk in Australia, Digital Edge (Singapore) in South Korea, and ESR in Hong Kong – in exploring ways to achieve sustainable growth while implementing their ESG objectives.AirTrunk has adopted sustainable financing to ensure it scales responsibly as the demand for AI and cloud computing skyrockets. With sustainability at the heart of both its financing and operations, linking financing to its sustainability strategy has been one of the key differentiators for AirTrunk in successfully securing large volumes of capital from the bank market. AirTrunk has gone a step further, investing the margin incentives from its sustainability-linked loans (from the achievement of its loan KPIs) into its social impact programme to deliver material and lasting benefit to the community.To ensure accountability and transparency, AirTrunk has developed a comprehensive sustainable financing framework outlining the rationale of the KPIs included in their sustainability-linked loan.<a href="Q3">Q3</a><a href="Q4">Q4</a></body>

<body>As part of the ITACA – ITAlian Corporate Ambition project* – Crédit Agricole Italia and Crédit Agricole CIB have supported Tinexta Group, a leading European player in the sectors of digital trust, cybersecurity and business innovation, in the most important acquisition of the company. This transaction is the first of its kind, in which we supported a mid-cap in a major acquisition in France. Indeed, the acquisition of ABF Decisions, a French company active in corporate advisory for subsidised/ soft finance based in Tours, will strengthen their international presence by enabling them to further access the European market as one of the few active operators supporting business innovation and growth. This will help them to promote their innovative services in France, which have already been successfully tested in Italy, and reinforce their expertise in the domain of public financing for innovation and sustainable development. Crédit Agricole CIB acted as M&A advisor, and both Crédit Agricole CIB and Crédit Agricole Italia acted as global coordinators in the arrangement of a syndicated loan of €220m intended to finance this acquisition. This transaction is yet another example of Crédit Agricole Italia and Crédit Agricole CIB’s ability to grow synergies for the benefit of Crédit Agricole Group clients in Italy and reinforce their ambition to develop the France-Italy corridor, which is at the heart of the mid-cap strategy of Crédit Agricole CIB’s Italian branch.(*) Created in 2016 and based on the knowledge sharing and expertise between Crédit Agricole Italia and Crédit Agricole CIB, the “ITACA - ITAlian Corporate Ambition” project aims to promote and facilitate synergies in the Large Corporate segment. It is aimed at Italian companies located between the Major Clients of Crédit Agricole CIB and the Large Corporate clients of the Crédit Agricole Italia group.<a @href="Q1">Q1</a><a @href="Q2">Q2</a></body>

<body>Crédit Agricole CIB and Crédit Agricole Italia successfully supported Tinexta Group in the acquisition of ABF decisions – evidence of the strong symbiosis between both branches benefitting clients in Italy.</body>

Crédit Agricole Italia and Crédit Agricole CIB supported Tinexta in their pivotal acquisition deal

<body>As part of the ITACA – ITAlian Corporate Ambition project* – Crédit Agricole Italia and Crédit Agricole CIB have supported Tinexta Group, a leading European player in the sectors of digital trust, cybersecurity and business innovation, in the most important acquisition of the company. This transaction is the first of its kind, in which we supported a mid-cap in a major acquisition in France. Indeed, the acquisition of ABF Decisions, a French company active in corporate advisory for subsidised/ soft finance based in Tours, will strengthen their international presence by enabling them to further access the European market as one of the few active operators supporting business innovation and growth. This will help them to promote their innovative services in France, which have already been successfully tested in Italy, and reinforce their expertise in the domain of public financing for innovation and sustainable development. Crédit Agricole CIB acted as M&A advisor, and both Crédit Agricole CIB and Crédit Agricole Italia acted as global coordinators in the arrangement of a syndicated loan of €220m intended to finance this acquisition. This transaction is yet another example of Crédit Agricole Italia and Crédit Agricole CIB’s ability to grow synergies for the benefit of Crédit Agricole Group clients in Italy and reinforce their ambition to develop the France-Italy corridor, which is at the heart of the mid-cap strategy of Crédit Agricole CIB’s Italian branch.(*) Created in 2016 and based on the knowledge sharing and expertise between Crédit Agricole Italia and Crédit Agricole CIB, the “ITACA - ITAlian Corporate Ambition” project aims to promote and facilitate synergies in the Large Corporate segment. It is aimed at Italian companies located between the Major Clients of Crédit Agricole CIB and the Large Corporate clients of the Crédit Agricole Italia group.<a href="Q1">Q1</a><a href="Q2">Q2</a></body>

Are you familiar with quantum computing?  

<body><subtitle-block>A burgeoning yet carbon intensive economy tied to all walks of life</subtitle-block>With the sprawling usage of big data and the increasing adoption of digitisation, cloud, AI, 5G across all aspects of our daily life – personal, work and society, data centres are the backbone of our economic, commercial and social existences. In the post-pandemic era, their role is more important than ever, as demand for their services continues to grow aggressively worldwide.In the real estate sector which contributes almost 40% to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, data centres are one of the world’s most energy-intensive buildings. Accounting for between 2.5% and 3.7% of all GHG emissions, these establishments have even overtaken the aviation and shipping industries. Asia-Pacific, home to the four countries with the largest number of data centres in the world - China, Australia, Japan and India, is the region where the most carbon-intensive structures are based.To remedy this and in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, some major APAC industry players have started adopting more sustainable practices and progressively involving a low-carbon approach in their operations, as illustrated by the following benchmarking financings. This shift is also pivotal for the net-zero transition of organisations that heavily rely on data centre services in order to reduce their scope 3 indirect emissions.<subtitle-block>Financing as a means toward net zero</subtitle-block>Starting with green loans, this type of debt instrument allows borrowers to use proceeds to fund projects that make a substantial contribution to environmental objective(s), through for example enhancement in power usage and cooling efficiency, adoption of renewable energy sources and usage of sustainable building materials.In 2022, Crédit Agricole CIB supported the very first data centre green loan in Japan, to finance the TOK2 data centre project in Tokyo developed by the region’s hyperscale data centre specialist, AirTrunk. The deal was the first to use eligibility criteria based on operating power usage effectiveness (PUE) and water productivity, two crucial metrics for evaluating data centre sustainability. In 2023, we also acted as the Green Loan Coordinator for the very first data centre green loan in Korea worth KRW 440 billion (USD 335 million) and financed the first phase of the SEL2 100 MW campus in Seoul built by Digital Edge (Singapore) Holdings Pte. Ltd. in partnership with the leading local developer SK Ecoplant. The project, which is the country’s largest commercial colocation facility, will be one of the most energy-efficient data centres in the South Korean market.In addition to green loans, industry players have also made sustainability commitments to their corporate strategy to improve their company ESG profile via sustainability-linked loans (SLL), which incentivise borrowers to achieve their sustainability ambitions by incorporating a pricing* adjustments mechanism according to their ESG performance. This type of financial instrument can help drive companies that may not have specific green projects/ capex in the pipeline to make real progress towards sustainability.Further contributing to AirTrunk’s leadership position in sustainable data centre financing, Crédit Agricole CIB accompanied the conversion of their A$2.1 billion loan into an SLL, then with the A$4.6 billion refinancing of this SLL in August 2023, thus twice establishing the world's largest SLL in data centre history. It set the industry benchmark globally as the first SLL to incorporate all three metrics combining carbon, energy and water usage effectiveness as to achieve the highest level of environmental transparency and accountability for a data centre operator. It was also the first SLL by a data centre operator to incorporate a gender pay equity KPI, and use margin incentives to fund its social impact programs. AirTrunk’s continuous, innovative approach in adopting sustainable financing has set it apart from industry peers, while creating an exemplary precedent as guidance for those who have ambition to follow suit. <a @href="Prashant">Prashant</a><a @href="Christophe">Christophe</a>Another transition example is ESR, APAC's largest real asset manager and the world’s third largest listed real estate investment manager, whose strategy integrates ESG into all aspects of its financial management, operations and development, with a total of seven SLLs already signed for around USD4 billion. We recently supported one of them, marking the first brownfield data centre SLL in Hong Kong worth HKD 1.6 billion (USD 204 million), to finance the conversion of a building located in one of the city’s main data centre clusters into a modern and more sustainable structure, with the support of a major local utility provider CLP Power.<subtitle-block>Paving the way towards a sustainable digital future</subtitle-block>As the digitisation of the economy must go hand in hand with its decarbonisation, Crédit Agricole CIB, whose mission includes financing the new economy in the technology, media and telecoms areas, is committed to guiding the regional data centre sector towards the next level of sustainability by constantly advocating industry actors to embark and progress on a low-carbon roadmap.As part of its climate strategy and roadmap to net-zero by 2050, the Crédit Agricole Group has set targets for 2030 in 10 sectors representing more than 75% of global GHG emissions, including a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions from its EUR24.6 billion commercial real estate financing portfolio. In line with this ambition, we offer our customers fully integrated advisory services and innovative solutions to help gear them up for the future as the sector continues to embrace ESG developments. As their transition partner, our support and value-add come in various forms, from acting as green loan advisor/coordinator, sustainability advisor/structuring agent on debt instruments, to formulating clients’ sustainability frameworks. We also strive to look for opportunities to set higher benchmarks on sustainable practices for the better good of the industry.<grey-block>Although data centres still have a long way to go to achieve carbon neutrality, many organisations are already on the right track. These APAC significant strides have successfully propelled the market’s green agenda and would inspire more and more ambitious actions from others, with a view to creating an industry-wide impact that will eventually drive all players notably in Europe and the Americas to join the bandwagon.</grey-block><a @href="Christophe2">Christophe2</a>*Or other forms of adjustment in the financial characteristics of the financial instrument**Commercial real estate 2030 Net Zero Banking Alliance target for Credit Agricole S.A.: -40%9 in CO2e emitted per sq. meter per year by corporate customers’ and real estate professional buildings from 46 kgCO2e/m2 to 28 kgCO2e/m2Source: International Energy Agency, Climatiq Analysis, The Shift Project, OurWorldinData</body>

<body>From green debt to sustainability-linked loans, data centre operators’ financing approach is evolving to mitigate environmental impact.</body>

Asia-Pacific trailblazes ESG adoption and innovation amongst global data centre operators

<body><subtitle-block>A burgeoning yet carbon intensive economy tied to all walks of life</subtitle-block>With the sprawling usage of big data and the increasing adoption of digitisation, cloud, AI, 5G across all aspects of our daily life – personal, work and society, data centres are the backbone of our economic, commercial and social existences. In the post-pandemic era, their role is more important than ever, as demand for their services continues to grow aggressively worldwide.In the real estate sector which contributes almost 40% to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, data centres are one of the world’s most energy-intensive buildings. Accounting for between 2.5% and 3.7% of all GHG emissions, these establishments have even overtaken the aviation and shipping industries. Asia-Pacific, home to the four countries with the largest number of data centres in the world - China, Australia, Japan and India, is the region where the most carbon-intensive structures are based.To remedy this and in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, some major APAC industry players have started adopting more sustainable practices and progressively involving a low-carbon approach in their operations, as illustrated by the following benchmarking financings. This shift is also pivotal for the net-zero transition of organisations that heavily rely on data centre services in order to reduce their scope 3 indirect emissions.<subtitle-block>Financing as a means toward net zero</subtitle-block>Starting with green loans, this type of debt instrument allows borrowers to use proceeds to fund projects that make a substantial contribution to environmental objective(s), through for example enhancement in power usage and cooling efficiency, adoption of renewable energy sources and usage of sustainable building materials.In 2022, Crédit Agricole CIB supported the very first data centre green loan in Japan, to finance the TOK2 data centre project in Tokyo developed by the region’s hyperscale data centre specialist, AirTrunk. The deal was the first to use eligibility criteria based on operating power usage effectiveness (PUE) and water productivity, two crucial metrics for evaluating data centre sustainability. In 2023, we also acted as the Green Loan Coordinator for the very first data centre green loan in Korea worth KRW 440 billion (USD 335 million) and financed the first phase of the SEL2 100 MW campus in Seoul built by Digital Edge (Singapore) Holdings Pte. Ltd. in partnership with the leading local developer SK Ecoplant. The project, which is the country’s largest commercial colocation facility, will be one of the most energy-efficient data centres in the South Korean market.In addition to green loans, industry players have also made sustainability commitments to their corporate strategy to improve their company ESG profile via sustainability-linked loans (SLL), which incentivise borrowers to achieve their sustainability ambitions by incorporating a pricing* adjustments mechanism according to their ESG performance. This type of financial instrument can help drive companies that may not have specific green projects/ capex in the pipeline to make real progress towards sustainability.Further contributing to AirTrunk’s leadership position in sustainable data centre financing, Crédit Agricole CIB accompanied the conversion of their A$2.1 billion loan into an SLL, then with the A$4.6 billion refinancing of this SLL in August 2023, thus twice establishing the world's largest SLL in data centre history. It set the industry benchmark globally as the first SLL to incorporate all three metrics combining carbon, energy and water usage effectiveness as to achieve the highest level of environmental transparency and accountability for a data centre operator. It was also the first SLL by a data centre operator to incorporate a gender pay equity KPI, and use margin incentives to fund its social impact programs. AirTrunk’s continuous, innovative approach in adopting sustainable financing has set it apart from industry peers, while creating an exemplary precedent as guidance for those who have ambition to follow suit. <a href="Prashant">Prashant</a><a href="Christophe">Christophe</a>Another transition example is ESR, APAC's largest real asset manager and the world’s third largest listed real estate investment manager, whose strategy integrates ESG into all aspects of its financial management, operations and development, with a total of seven SLLs already signed for around USD4 billion. We recently supported one of them, marking the first brownfield data centre SLL in Hong Kong worth HKD 1.6 billion (USD 204 million), to finance the conversion of a building located in one of the city’s main data centre clusters into a modern and more sustainable structure, with the support of a major local utility provider CLP Power.<subtitle-block>Paving the way towards a sustainable digital future</subtitle-block>As the digitisation of the economy must go hand in hand with its decarbonisation, Crédit Agricole CIB, whose mission includes financing the new economy in the technology, media and telecoms areas, is committed to guiding the regional data centre sector towards the next level of sustainability by constantly advocating industry actors to embark and progress on a low-carbon roadmap.As part of its climate strategy and roadmap to net-zero by 2050, the Crédit Agricole Group has set targets for 2030 in 10 sectors representing more than 75% of global GHG emissions, including a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions from its EUR24.6 billion commercial real estate financing portfolio. In line with this ambition, we offer our customers fully integrated advisory services and innovative solutions to help gear them up for the future as the sector continues to embrace ESG developments. As their transition partner, our support and value-add come in various forms, from acting as green loan advisor/coordinator, sustainability advisor/structuring agent on debt instruments, to formulating clients’ sustainability frameworks. We also strive to look for opportunities to set higher benchmarks on sustainable practices for the better good of the industry.<grey-block>Although data centres still have a long way to go to achieve carbon neutrality, many organisations are already on the right track. These APAC significant strides have successfully propelled the market’s green agenda and would inspire more and more ambitious actions from others, with a view to creating an industry-wide impact that will eventually drive all players notably in Europe and the Americas to join the bandwagon.</grey-block><a href="Christophe2">Christophe2</a>*Or other forms of adjustment in the financial characteristics of the financial instrument**Commercial real estate 2030 Net Zero Banking Alliance target for Credit Agricole S.A.: -40%9 in CO2e emitted per sq. meter per year by corporate customers’ and real estate professional buildings from 46 kgCO2e/m2 to 28 kgCO2e/m2Source: International Energy Agency, Climatiq Analysis, The Shift Project, OurWorldinData</body>

<body>SOMFY has integrated non-financial performance targets into the financing conditions of its €350 million syndicated line of credit. Effective from 2023, the initiative confirms the group’s commitment to sustainable development.Crédit Agricole CIB and LCL supported SOMFY as ESG coordinators for the financing, providing the company with the Crédit Agricole Group’s recognised expertise in sustainable finance. The Bank supported SOMFY in the implementation of a €350 million revolving credit facility refinancing bilateral debts. The facility will be used to finance the company’s general needs and integrates non-financial performance targets consistent with SOMFY’s robust CSR strategy. As part of the transaction, the cost of financing will be indexed annually on three key indicators:<ul><li>the reduction of Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions;</li><li>the reduction of Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions;</li><li>an increase in the proportion of women in management.</li></ul><h2>About SOMFY</h2>Founded in 1969 in France, and now operating in 58 countries, SOMFY is the world leader in window and door automation for homes and buildings. Pioneer in the connected home, the Group is constantly innovating to guarantee its users comfort, well-being, and security in the home and is fully committed to promoting sustainable development. For more than 50 years, SOMFY has been using automation to improve living environments and has been committed to creating reliable and sustainable solutions that promote better living and well-being for all.<div @class=""><div><table @border="" @cellpadding="" @cellspacing="" @style=""><tbody><tr><td @style=""><img @alt="" @data-entity-type="" @data-entity-uuid="" @src=""></img></td><td @style=""> </td><td @style="">“This transaction is the culmination of a close relationship formed over decades with SOMFY’s shareholding family and management. It stands as recognition of the know-how of the Crédit Agricole Group and CACIB in supporting our clients on vital non-financial themes relating to climate change and societal issues.”Estebann Jager, Senior Banker (Crédit Agricole CIB Midcaps Division)</td></tr><tr><td @style=""> </td><td @style=""> </td><td @style=""> </td></tr><tr><td @style=""><img @alt="" @data-entity-type="" @data-entity-uuid="" @src=""></img></td><td @style=""> </td><td @style="">“The goal of Crédit Agricole des Savoie is to take action for the future of its region in response to emerging social, environmental and climate challenges. Supporting an emblematic player of the Savoie region such as SOMFY on the integration of its ESG performance assessment into its financing policy ties in 100% with that goal.”Thomas Burdet, Relationship Manager, Large Companies (Caisse Régionale des Savoie)</td></tr><tr><td @style=""> </td><td @style=""> </td><td @style=""> </td></tr><tr><td @style=""><img @alt="" @data-entity-type="" @data-entity-uuid="" @src=""></img></td><td @style=""> </td><td @style="">“By anticipating the needs of the client and its shareholders, and through the close relations with the LCL and Crédit Agricole Group teams, we supported SOMFY in its very first impact financing and proposed ambitious non-financial targets to the directors.”Pierre Falcone, Senior Banker (LCL)</td></tr><tr><td @style=""> </td><td @style=""> </td><td @style=""> </td></tr><tr><td @style=""><img @alt="" @data-entity-type="" @data-entity-uuid="" @src=""></img></td><td @style=""> </td><td @style="">“By structuring non-financial indicators, we were able to create a differentiating dialogue with SOMFY’s CSR and HR departments, highlighting the expertise of the Crédit Agricole Group with a particularly committed regional midcap.”Gaspard Maraval, Sustainable Banking, Midcaps (Crédit Agricole CIB)</td></tr></tbody></table> </div></div></body>

<body>Crédit Agricole CIB and LCL advised the SOMFY Group, acting as ESG coordinators for its syndicated line of credit.</body>

<body>SOMFY confirms its commitment to sustainable development by integrating non-financial performance targets into the financing</body>

<body>SOMFY has integrated non-financial performance targets into the financing conditions of its €350 million syndicated line of credit. Effective from 2023, the initiative confirms the group’s commitment to sustainable development.Crédit Agricole CIB and LCL supported SOMFY as ESG coordinators for the financing, providing the company with the Crédit Agricole Group’s recognised expertise in sustainable finance. The Bank supported SOMFY in the implementation of a €350 million revolving credit facility refinancing bilateral debts. The facility will be used to finance the company’s general needs and integrates non-financial performance targets consistent with SOMFY’s robust CSR strategy. As part of the transaction, the cost of financing will be indexed annually on three key indicators:<ul><li>the reduction of Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions;</li><li>the reduction of Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions;</li><li>an increase in the proportion of women in management.</li></ul><h2>About SOMFY</h2>Founded in 1969 in France, and now operating in 58 countries, SOMFY is the world leader in window and door automation for homes and buildings. Pioneer in the connected home, the Group is constantly innovating to guarantee its users comfort, well-being, and security in the home and is fully committed to promoting sustainable development. For more than 50 years, SOMFY has been using automation to improve living environments and has been committed to creating reliable and sustainable solutions that promote better living and well-being for all.<div class=""><div><table border="" cellpadding="" cellspacing="" style=""><tbody><tr><td style=""><img alt="" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src=""></img></td><td style=""> </td><td style="">“This transaction is the culmination of a close relationship formed over decades with SOMFY’s shareholding family and management. It stands as recognition of the know-how of the Crédit Agricole Group and CACIB in supporting our clients on vital non-financial themes relating to climate change and societal issues.”Estebann Jager, Senior Banker (Crédit Agricole CIB Midcaps Division)</td></tr><tr><td style=""> </td><td style=""> </td><td style=""> </td></tr><tr><td style=""><img alt="" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src=""></img></td><td style=""> </td><td style="">“The goal of Crédit Agricole des Savoie is to take action for the future of its region in response to emerging social, environmental and climate challenges. Supporting an emblematic player of the Savoie region such as SOMFY on the integration of its ESG performance assessment into its financing policy ties in 100% with that goal.”Thomas Burdet, Relationship Manager, Large Companies (Caisse Régionale des Savoie)</td></tr><tr><td style=""> </td><td style=""> </td><td style=""> </td></tr><tr><td style=""><img alt="" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src=""></img></td><td style=""> </td><td style="">“By anticipating the needs of the client and its shareholders, and through the close relations with the LCL and Crédit Agricole Group teams, we supported SOMFY in its very first impact financing and proposed ambitious non-financial targets to the directors.”Pierre Falcone, Senior Banker (LCL)</td></tr><tr><td style=""> </td><td style=""> </td><td style=""> </td></tr><tr><td style=""><img alt="" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src=""></img></td><td style=""> </td><td style="">“By structuring non-financial indicators, we were able to create a differentiating dialogue with SOMFY’s CSR and HR departments, highlighting the expertise of the Crédit Agricole Group with a particularly committed regional midcap.”Gaspard Maraval, Sustainable Banking, Midcaps (Crédit Agricole CIB)</td></tr></tbody></table> </div></div></body>

SOMFY confirms its commitment to sustainable development by integrating non-financial performance targets into the financing

<body>Crédit Agricole CIB is proud to announce the progressive rollout of the Komgo Trakk solution to its Trade Finance activity of paper guarantees’ issuance. This digital solution has been implemented to increase the security and comfort of the bank guarantees’ beneficiaries.Komgo Trakk is an innovative and seamless digital solution to protect documents against fraud and falsification. By protecting the digital copy of the issued paper guarantee, the beneficiary will be able to verify instantaneously on the bank’s institutional website the origin of the secured document received and will get the confirmation that it has not been tampered with. This gives a very important comfort to the beneficiary of the bank guarantee when receiving the original paper document (given that the latter usually does not have a direct link with the issuing bank).This is the first time a bank implements Komgo Trakk to secure guarantee instruments. This initiative is part of a wide ranging digital transformation programme which is at the centre of the Crédit Agricole Group’s strategic project, whose ambition is to deliver the most advanced services to its clients. Crédit Agricole CIB has a recognized capacity to manage large and secured Trade Finance transactions and strives to combine traditional business with digitalization. Last May, the Bank was recognised “Best Trade Finance Bank in Western Europe” for the second consecutive year by Global Trade Review (GTR).As a founding shareholder, Crédit Agricole Group is fully invested in Komgo and has made it part of its medium-term strategic plan. Based in Geneva with a presence in the Americas and Asia, the Komgo network provides clients with several modules to improve efficiency and security of Trade Finance transactions. Late 2022, Komgo acquired the Canadian Global Trade Corporation (GTC), a pioneer in multi-bank commodities and trade finance solutions for corporates. Jointly Komgo and GTC provide trade finance digitalisation solutions to over 120 multinational clients and their 11,000+ subsidiaries, connecting them to their financial institutions and trade service providers on a global basis. <img @alt="isabelle" @src="https://www.ca-cib.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/isabelle-quillot.jpg"></img>“The expertise and experience of our Trade Finance teams in contact with our clients, led to the introduction of this innovative practice. The solution is simple and robust, with a single drag and drop of the secured digital document on our website, without any login or password.”Isabelle Quiot, Global Head of Back Office Documentary & Guarantee Operations, Crédit Agricole CIB <img @alt="javier" @src="https://www.ca-cib.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Javier%20Sanchez-Asiain.png"></img>“Crédit Agricole CIB is proud to be the very first bank to introduce Komgo Trakk to protect its Guarantee operations. We expect this simple security solution to be widely adopted and even become the new industry standard.”Javier Sanchez-Asiain, Global Head of Global Trade Finance, Crédit Agricole CIB    <img @alt="pierre jose" @src="https://www.ca-cib.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/pierre-jose.le-prado.jpg"></img>“This innovation applied to our Guarantee business exemplifies that Trade Finance is evolving into a digital framework and we are delighted to lead this transition for our clients.”Pierre-José Le Prado, Head of Origination Corporate France, Crédit Agricole CIB</body>

<body>This digital solution has been implemented to increase the security and comfort of the bank guarantees’ beneficiaries.</body>

Crédit Agricole CIB innovates in its Trade Finance business with Komgo Trakk

<body>Crédit Agricole CIB is proud to announce the progressive rollout of the Komgo Trakk solution to its Trade Finance activity of paper guarantees’ issuance. This digital solution has been implemented to increase the security and comfort of the bank guarantees’ beneficiaries.Komgo Trakk is an innovative and seamless digital solution to protect documents against fraud and falsification. By protecting the digital copy of the issued paper guarantee, the beneficiary will be able to verify instantaneously on the bank’s institutional website the origin of the secured document received and will get the confirmation that it has not been tampered with. This gives a very important comfort to the beneficiary of the bank guarantee when receiving the original paper document (given that the latter usually does not have a direct link with the issuing bank).This is the first time a bank implements Komgo Trakk to secure guarantee instruments. This initiative is part of a wide ranging digital transformation programme which is at the centre of the Crédit Agricole Group’s strategic project, whose ambition is to deliver the most advanced services to its clients. Crédit Agricole CIB has a recognized capacity to manage large and secured Trade Finance transactions and strives to combine traditional business with digitalization. Last May, the Bank was recognised “Best Trade Finance Bank in Western Europe” for the second consecutive year by Global Trade Review (GTR).As a founding shareholder, Crédit Agricole Group is fully invested in Komgo and has made it part of its medium-term strategic plan. Based in Geneva with a presence in the Americas and Asia, the Komgo network provides clients with several modules to improve efficiency and security of Trade Finance transactions. Late 2022, Komgo acquired the Canadian Global Trade Corporation (GTC), a pioneer in multi-bank commodities and trade finance solutions for corporates. Jointly Komgo and GTC provide trade finance digitalisation solutions to over 120 multinational clients and their 11,000+ subsidiaries, connecting them to their financial institutions and trade service providers on a global basis. <img alt="isabelle" src="https://www.ca-cib.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/isabelle-quillot.jpg"></img>“The expertise and experience of our Trade Finance teams in contact with our clients, led to the introduction of this innovative practice. The solution is simple and robust, with a single drag and drop of the secured digital document on our website, without any login or password.”Isabelle Quiot, Global Head of Back Office Documentary & Guarantee Operations, Crédit Agricole CIB <img alt="javier" src="https://www.ca-cib.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Javier%20Sanchez-Asiain.png"></img>“Crédit Agricole CIB is proud to be the very first bank to introduce Komgo Trakk to protect its Guarantee operations. We expect this simple security solution to be widely adopted and even become the new industry standard.”Javier Sanchez-Asiain, Global Head of Global Trade Finance, Crédit Agricole CIB    <img alt="pierre jose" src="https://www.ca-cib.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/pierre-jose.le-prado.jpg"></img>“This innovation applied to our Guarantee business exemplifies that Trade Finance is evolving into a digital framework and we are delighted to lead this transition for our clients.”Pierre-José Le Prado, Head of Origination Corporate France, Crédit Agricole CIB</body>

<body><img @alt="" @data-entity-type="" @data-entity-uuid="" @src=""></img>SEB and Crédit Agricole CIB are jointly launching so|bond, a “sustainable1 and open” platform for digital bonds built on blockchain technology. Through the platform, issuers in capital markets will be able to issue digital bonds onto a blockchain network, aiming at improving efficiency, and enabling real-time data synchronisation across participants. The blockchain network is using a validation protocol, Proof of Climate awaReness, that encourages its participants to minimise their environmental footprint.[1] Sustainable by its invitation to reduce resources consumption and open to interested parties who want to review, contribute to and participate in the semi-permissioned model.<div @class=""><div @class=""><div><time @datetime="">31.03.2023</time></div></div><div @class="" @style=""><div @class=""><div @class=""></div></div><div @class=""><a @class="" @href="" @target="" @title="">Read the press release</a></div></div></div>
, <div @class=""><div><h2>Blockchain technology has the potential to modernise and digitalise the banking and financial services sectors through decentralised and efficient infrastructure</h2>The so|bond platform will enable issuers to raise capital and manage securities through smart contracts, programs that automatically execute, control or document events and actions according to the terms of the contract. The platform’s open, transparent and secure model also fosters trust between market participants and allows further innovations such as using a future central bank digital currency.<h2>New Proof of Climate awaReness protocol incentivises lower environmental impact across the life cycle of its infrastructure</h2>One of the main barriers to the widespread adoption of blockchain technology is that it is often considered as a high energy consuming solution. Although “Proof of Stake” protocols use significantly less energy than those that use “Proof of Work”, there is scope for further improvement.The so|bond platform is built on a new type of blockchain validation logic, the Proof of Climate awaReness protocol. It enables an energy consumption comparable to non-blockchain systems and incentivises participating nodes to continually improve the environmental footprint of their infrastructures. More specifically, each node will be remunerated for its efforts according to a formula linked to its climate impact evaluated with the Life Cycle Assessment ISO standard: the lower environmental footprint it is, the larger the reward will be.The platform and the blockchain technology was developed in collaboration with the IT provider Finaxys. 
The environmental footprint is measured according to a methodology developed by APL Data Center and applied by SGS, a world-leading certification expert. so|bond is the first use case of this new blockchain technology operating under the Proof of Climate awaReness protocol in global capital markets. Romaric Rollet, Head of Innovation and Digital Transformation at Crédit Agricole CIB: “Crédit Agricole CIB is proud to contribute to the emerging market of digital assets. The platform’s innovative approach, both to the blockchain infrastructure and to the securities market, is coupled with the strong commitment to green and sustainable finance that is at the centre of our Societal Project. This is a key achievement, a part of Crédit Agricole CIB Digital Transformation Acceleration plan, and we welcome collaboration to convert innovations into possible market standards that better respond to our clients’ needs in an evolving regulatory environment.”Anna Sjulander, Head of SSA DCM (sovereigns, supranationals and agencies debt capital markets) at SEB: ”The launch of the digital bond platform is an important step for SEB, and for the issuers and investors that join the platform, and will allow us to gain insights into what the innovative space of digital assets mean for the financial services industry. We see this as a great opportunity to learn what the future entails in terms of transparency, faster processing and operational simplifications, and will use a bond as the first stepping stone before expanding the use of the platform to other asset classes.”</div></div></body>

<body>SEB and Crédit Agricole CIB are jointly launching so|bond, a “sustainable and open” platform for digital bonds built on blockchain technology.</body>

<body>Crédit Agricole CIB and SEB launch a sustainable and open digital bond platform built on blockchain technology</body>

<body><img alt="" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src=""></img>SEB and Crédit Agricole CIB are jointly launching so|bond, a “sustainable1 and open” platform for digital bonds built on blockchain technology. Through the platform, issuers in capital markets will be able to issue digital bonds onto a blockchain network, aiming at improving efficiency, and enabling real-time data synchronisation across participants. The blockchain network is using a validation protocol, Proof of Climate awaReness, that encourages its participants to minimise their environmental footprint.[1] Sustainable by its invitation to reduce resources consumption and open to interested parties who want to review, contribute to and participate in the semi-permissioned model.<div class=""><div class=""><div><time datetime="">31.03.2023</time></div></div><div class="" style=""><div class=""><div class=""></div></div><div class=""><a class="" href="" target="" title="">Read the press release</a></div></div></div>
, <div class=""><div><h2>Blockchain technology has the potential to modernise and digitalise the banking and financial services sectors through decentralised and efficient infrastructure</h2>The so|bond platform will enable issuers to raise capital and manage securities through smart contracts, programs that automatically execute, control or document events and actions according to the terms of the contract. The platform’s open, transparent and secure model also fosters trust between market participants and allows further innovations such as using a future central bank digital currency.<h2>New Proof of Climate awaReness protocol incentivises lower environmental impact across the life cycle of its infrastructure</h2>One of the main barriers to the widespread adoption of blockchain technology is that it is often considered as a high energy consuming solution. Although “Proof of Stake” protocols use significantly less energy than those that use “Proof of Work”, there is scope for further improvement.The so|bond platform is built on a new type of blockchain validation logic, the Proof of Climate awaReness protocol. It enables an energy consumption comparable to non-blockchain systems and incentivises participating nodes to continually improve the environmental footprint of their infrastructures. More specifically, each node will be remunerated for its efforts according to a formula linked to its climate impact evaluated with the Life Cycle Assessment ISO standard: the lower environmental footprint it is, the larger the reward will be.The platform and the blockchain technology was developed in collaboration with the IT provider Finaxys. 
The environmental footprint is measured according to a methodology developed by APL Data Center and applied by SGS, a world-leading certification expert. so|bond is the first use case of this new blockchain technology operating under the Proof of Climate awaReness protocol in global capital markets. Romaric Rollet, Head of Innovation and Digital Transformation at Crédit Agricole CIB: “Crédit Agricole CIB is proud to contribute to the emerging market of digital assets. The platform’s innovative approach, both to the blockchain infrastructure and to the securities market, is coupled with the strong commitment to green and sustainable finance that is at the centre of our Societal Project. This is a key achievement, a part of Crédit Agricole CIB Digital Transformation Acceleration plan, and we welcome collaboration to convert innovations into possible market standards that better respond to our clients’ needs in an evolving regulatory environment.”Anna Sjulander, Head of SSA DCM (sovereigns, supranationals and agencies debt capital markets) at SEB: ”The launch of the digital bond platform is an important step for SEB, and for the issuers and investors that join the platform, and will allow us to gain insights into what the innovative space of digital assets mean for the financial services industry. We see this as a great opportunity to learn what the future entails in terms of transparency, faster processing and operational simplifications, and will use a bond as the first stepping stone before expanding the use of the platform to other asset classes.”</div></div></body>

Crédit Agricole CIB and SEB launch a sustainable and open digital bond platform built on blockchain technology

<body>Crédit Agricole CIB and European technology leaders in quantum computing, Pasqal and Multiverse Computing, announce conclusive results on two Proofs of Concept using quantum computing in the field of finance. These two experiments, initiated in June 2021 by Crédit Agricole CIB, aimed to evaluate the contribution of an algorithmic approach inspired by quantum computing, and the potential of quantum computers for finance, in two areas: the valuation of financial products, and the assessment of credit risks.The Bank partnered with French company Pasqal, a leader in the manufacture of quantum computers in Europe, and the Spanish company Multiverse Computing, which specializes in quantum and quantum-inspired algorithms, which can run on conventional computer systems.26.01.2023 <a @class="link-pdf" @href="https://www.ca-cib.com/sites/default/files/2023-01/Press%20release_Cr%C3%A9dit%20Agricole%20CIB_Multiverse_Pasqal_26012023.pdf">Press release - Two real-world experiments conducted by Crédit Agricole CIB in quantum computing produce conclusive results</a></body>

<body>Crédit Agricole CIB conducted two real-world experiments in quantum computing in the field of finance, in partnership with Pasqal and Multiverse Computing</body>

Two real-world experiments conducted by Crédit Agricole CIB in quantum computing produce conclusive results 

<body>Crédit Agricole CIB and European technology leaders in quantum computing, Pasqal and Multiverse Computing, announce conclusive results on two Proofs of Concept using quantum computing in the field of finance. These two experiments, initiated in June 2021 by Crédit Agricole CIB, aimed to evaluate the contribution of an algorithmic approach inspired by quantum computing, and the potential of quantum computers for finance, in two areas: the valuation of financial products, and the assessment of credit risks.The Bank partnered with French company Pasqal, a leader in the manufacture of quantum computers in Europe, and the Spanish company Multiverse Computing, which specializes in quantum and quantum-inspired algorithms, which can run on conventional computer systems.26.01.2023 <a class="link-pdf" href="https://www.ca-cib.com/sites/default/files/2023-01/Press%20release_Cr%C3%A9dit%20Agricole%20CIB_Multiverse_Pasqal_26012023.pdf">Press release - Two real-world experiments conducted by Crédit Agricole CIB in quantum computing produce conclusive results</a></body>