Banco Internacional del Ecuador, one of the five most important banks in the country, led the first blue bonds issuance process in Ecuador and Latin America, with a US$ 79 million value.

Blue bonds are an innovative way to finance projects aimed at the protection of marine and freshwater ecosystems or for the improvement of access to water and sanitation. This innovative first issuance will contribute to water conservation through the financing of clean commercial and productive operations, adhering to the ICM Green Bond Principles and IFC's Blue Finance Guidelines.

The main investor for the project is the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which in recent days announced that it reached an agreement to subscribe 40 million in blue bonds.

Lexvalor Abogados participated as an advisor to Banco Internacional during the process of legal structuring of the issuance under Ecuadorian law.

The lawyers in charge of the transaction were partners Margoth Chiriboga and Héctor Barahona and senior associate María Pia Rivadeneira.

About Banco Internacional:

Banco Internacional was founded in Quito in 1973, has more than 1300 employees committed to customer satisfaction nationwide. Banco Internacional is the leading bank in efficiency, it stands out for its focus on small, medium and large companies, as well as high- and medium-income individuals. The bank has 73 branches nationwide in 17 provinces, in the Sierra, Costa and Amazon regions, in addition to a network of more than 360 ATMs. For more Information, visit www.bancointernacional.ec