Rome, 25 June 2021
FS signed today, with a syndicate of six financial institutions, a new committed and revolving credit facility agreement for 2.5 billion euros and three years tenor, the largest financial transaction ever for the Group.
The facility, signed with FS Holding by Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Credit Agricole CIB, CaixaBank and Banca Popolare di Sondrio, is the first Group's Sustainability Linked product, thanks to the provision of margin and commitment fee adjustments, linked to the achievement of targets for four KPIs that capture the Group's overall commitment in the ESG field.
Two KPIs are common goals for the whole Group - such as the improvement of the ESG rating and the gender gap decrease in management positions - and two are distinctive goals, in the field of sustainable mobility and stations accessibility, relating to RFI and Trenitalia projects. Hence, for the first time, the financial market will also monitor and measure priority targets for FS and for the Country, such as female employment and social commitment to ease the modal shift into less carbon intensive modes of transport.
After 3 green bonds issued since 2017 and the bilateral deals closed between 2020 and 2021, whose purpose was in line with the ESG principles, the signing of this new Backup Facility marks a further and important step for FS on the tracks of innovation and development of sustainable finance products, for the main subsidiaries’ funding needs and, it further confirms the strategic nature of these tools, witnessing the market the strong integration of sustainability in the Group's business.
This closing follows a competitive selection among banks, launched in April, in order to raise from the market a new committed line wider than the existing one, within the first half of 2021, to meet the Group liquidity needs, also considering its leading role in implementing the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which has among its pillars the Country's infrastructure modernization for the development of a safe, integrated and sustainable mobility.
Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Credit Agricole CIB and CaixaBank acted as Underwriters & Mandated Lead Arranger; Banca Popolare di Sondrio as Participant; Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit and Credit Agricole CIB played the role of Sustainability Coordinators; the role of Agent Bank was assigned to Intesa Sanpaolo.