Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised Banco Santander on a €1bn green loan with a European Export Credit Agency (“ECA”) guarantee granted to Iberdrola for the financing of the acquisition of turbines for both onshore and offshore windfarm projects in Spain, Poland, Greece, Germany and the United Kingdom. The financing, which has a maximum maturity term of 15 years, is the largest ECA-backed green loan Iberdrola has ever signed.
Iberdrola is a global energy leader, top wind power producer and one of the largest electricity companies by market capitalisation in the world. They are considered one of the of the top sustainable electrical utilities in the world and an international benchmark for their contributions to sustainability and the fight against climate change.
Banco Santander is a leading Spanish multinational commercial bank and financial services company with an objective of raising over €120bn in green financing between 2019 and 2025.
The cross-border WFW finance team that advised Banco Santander was led by Madrid Banking and Finance Head Rodrigo Berasategui, working closely with London Partner Katherine Best. They were assisted by Madrid Senior Associate Juan Vicente Barquilla and Associates Antón Ramil and George Garthwaite in Madrid and London respectively.
Rodrigo commented: “We are very pleased to have once again been able to help promote global sustainability initiatives in the Spanish banking sector and beyond. I would like to thank the whole team for closing this transaction in record time, a key element to the success of the transaction. This transaction further highlights WFW’s unrivalled experience and expertise in advising Tier 1 borrowers and lenders on major renewables and export transactions”.
