Supporting Public Sector organisations on every step of their sustainability journey

Climate, ESG and Sustainable Finance for the Public Sector

Rates, currencies and certain financing products are provided by NatWest Markets Plc in the UK and by NatWest Markets NV in the EU and its subsidiaries. For more information please visit our ring-fencing page. Finance is subject to status. Security may be required. Product fees may apply.

About us

As the Public Sector team, we offer climate and ESG solutions and services to Housing Associations, Local Authorities and Higher Education institutions.

We are a group of specialists that deliver all Debt Capital Markets and Risk Management transactions for our customers as one team. Our cohesive and solution-led approach, combined with our deal capabilities and deep investor knowledge, allows us stand out in the market.

How we could support your institution

Hedging solutions

We could help you manage your key market risk exposures (interest rates & inflation) through derivatives such as swaps and options.

Public Bond Financing

We could advise and support you in accessing funding in the public debt markets via bonds, retained sales, tap issuances and reverse enquiries.

Private Placement Financing

We provide bespoke funding solutions for a broad range of tenors, sectors and structures for privately placed debt finance with global investors.

Investment Solutions

We offer a range of investment products and structures which could allow you to enhance yields and make attractive returns on cash.

Sustainable Finance

NatWest is a specialist in sustainable finance across both bank and capital markets, with numerous mandates supporting issuers specifically in the Public Sector with the structuring of their Sustainable Finance Frameworks.

Our work

We have assisted Public Sector institutions with a wide range of ESG-related deals.

NatWest recognises the importance of the Higher Education sector and plays a key part in helping Higher Education institutions raise financing across the capital spectrum, including bank debt and access to institutional funding. Examples include assisting King’s College London in structuring the first Sustainable Financing Framework for a UK University, and supporting University College London in their landmark transaction: the first Sustainable Bond in the UK Higher Education sector.

NatWest has helped develop alternative funding sources for Local Authorities, including supporting the UK MBA and helping the sector to develop potential funding sources for the journey to Net Carbon Zero through collaborative working both within the sector and with wider stakeholders.

We are also a key bank for UK Housing Associations. For more information on our work with housing associations, please click here.

Product Innovation and Partnership

Innovative products, which we have developed in partnership with our customer, such as, for example, Green or ESG-linked Commercial Paper (CP) Programmes, ESG-linked FX forward products, and ESG- linked Revolving Credit Facilities (RCF) underline our commitment to continually strive to expand the sustainable finance market for the benefit of our customers.

Alongside ESG product development, we can help you define your ESG strategy and become ESG prepared, and we are offering structuring advice such as key performance indicator (KPI) definitions on ESG-linked products as well as developing more bespoke solutions such as KPI-linked derivatives, implementing carbon offsetting strategies and optimising capital structures.

We’re also involved in the Accelerator Cities programme of the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), which brings together some of the UK’s most ambitious city authorities and other specialist stakeholders to catalyse action on home retrofit. As part of the programme, NatWest supported UKGBC last year in developing their Retrofit Playbook for Local Authorities.

Our customers

We are proud to have celebrated a number of sustainability ‘firsts’ with our Public Sector customers. You can read in more detail about these transactions on our Case Studies page – or you can see recent examples of our work below:

London School of Economics (LSE)

We supported the LSE with their Sustainable Finance Framework and inaugural sustainable Private Placement as they looked to improve the environmental impact of their campus and fund a range of social initiatives to support students.

Jigsaw

We supported Jigsaw with their successful debut Sustainability Bond, securing an attractive 30-year transaction in the midst of a challenging market.

Places for People

We supported Places for People with their inaugural Sustainability Bond as they looked to finance and refinance projects in the following categories: Affordable Housing, Green Buildings and Energy Efficiency.

Insights

Furthermore, we also support our research teams in providing ESG insights and content that aligns with our customers’ needs and challenges. You can find all ESG content on our Sustainability Hub and on Agile Markets.

You can also access some recent examples of our insights below: