On February 13, 2020, in Budapest (Hungary), the traditional Annual award ceremony took place.

Following the debut HUF bond placement in March and the next HUF issue in October 2019, International Investment Bank was recognized by BSE as the “Best International Issuer of the Year” on the Hungarian Debt Capital Market.

Jozef Kollár, the First Deputy Chairperson of IIB Management Board, in charge of Treasury and Funding, received the award from Mr. Richard Végh, BSE CEO.

IIB has been the first and still remains the only multilateral development bank to issue HUF-denominated bonds under Hungarian law with repo-eligibility, approved by the National Bank of Hungary and with listing the securities on Budapest Stock Exchange.

IIB has placed and listed two bond issues on the BSE in total amount of HUF 47 bn (EUR 140 mln in equivalent). The funds raised helped to expand IIB’s lending and investment activities in Hungary and in other EU Member States of the Bank. By the end of 2019, IIB’s loan and documentary portfolio reached a record level of EUR 1 bn.

Receiving the award, Jozef Kollár noted: “We are very pleased that the Budapest Stock Exchange, our reliable partner, has honoured the Bank. The development of local capital markets and local currency markets of our Member States is one of key priorities of our Strategy and Mission. We are proud that with the bonds issued, IIB brought a high-quality financial instrument with “A” rating to the Hungarian Capital Market, which met high demand from both domestic and international institutional investors, demonstrating confidence towards our institution. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our partners, Lead Managers of the issues, OTP Bank and UniCredit Hungary.

This success would not be possible without continuing support we are receiving from Hungarian Government, National Bank of Hungary, the Ministry of Finance and personally Minister Mihály Varga. Last year Hungary became the Bank’s second-largest shareholder and it has been and will remain one of the key financial markets for IIB. We do believe that our activities in the CEE-region will contribute to increasing the visibility of Budapest as an international financial centre.”

IIB has issued and listed bonds on Stock Exchanges in Bratislava, Budapest, Bucharest, Vienna, Moscow and Prague. The relocation of our HQ to Budapest allowed the Bank to significantly expand its investor base, diversify the markets, increase volumes and decrease the funding costs.

Among its investors IIB currently counts more than 170 entities and institutions – banks, mutual and pension funds, insurance companies - from 13 jurisdictions, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, Russia, and the UK, among them. 71 % of the Bank’s funding is originated on EU bond markets.