World Bank Capital-at-Risk Notes Program news

The government of the Philippines sees the successful issuance of its first catastrophe bond, the World Bank facilitated $225 million IBRD CAR 123-124 cat bond, as an example of the country “climate proofing” itself, as well as an endorsement of its natural disaster resilience strategy.

The World Bank has now successfully completed the issuance of the first catastrophe bond to benefit the Philippines with a source of capital markets backed disaster insurance, as the $225 million IBRD CAR 123-124 cat bond transaction listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) this morning.

The inaugural catastrophe bond to benefit the Philippines will also set another ILS market first, as the $225 million of notes issued through the World Bank’s IBRD CAR 123-124 cat bond transaction will be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX).

The first catastrophe bond ever issued to cover natural peril exposures in the Philippines has now been priced, as the landmark transaction from the World Bank gets nearer to completion.

The World Bank supported catastrophe bond that is in the market to secure risk transfer and disaster insurance protection for the Philippines has not upsized, with the IBRD CAR 123-124 transaction still aiming for $225 million.

A catastrophe bond (IBRD CAR 123-124) has been launched to the market seeking to secure risk transfer and disaster insurance protection for the Philippines, with the World Bank supporting the country in securing a capital markets backed source of capacity for catastrophe loss events.

The establishment of the World Bank’s capital-at-risk notes program almost four years ago set the foundation for continued innovation and expansion, as the organisation looks to “push the boundaries” of insurance-linked securities (ILS) market risks, according to Michael Bennett, Head of Derivatives & Structured Finance, World Bank Treasury.

The World Bank is exploring potential new transactions as part of its Capital-at-Risk Notes Program, where it issues catastrophe bonds on behalf of sovereign entities. The Bank is also considering ways to use the facility to provide health risk transfer as well.

The recently completed World Bank issued catastrophe bond transaction, which saw the bank leverage its own structured bond issuance platform to sell a cat bond to investors is an important step for public sector catastrophe bond sponsors, said GC Securities.

The World Bank has hailed the successful issuance of the first catastrophe bond notes through its newly created Capital-at-Risk Notes Program, which resulted in the World Bank – CCRIF 2014-1 cat bond we covered last week.