Aozora Bank : Issues Senior Unsecured U.S. Dollar-Denominated Green Bonds Listed on Overseas Market

September 11, 2023

Aozora Bank, Ltd.

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Aozora Issues Senior Unsecured

U.S. Dollar-Denominated Green Bonds Listed on Overseas Market

Tokyo September 11, 2023 ― Aozora Bank, Ltd. (President and CEO: Kei Tanikawa; Head Office: Tokyo) ('Aozora' or 'the Bank') today announced that it has issued Green Bonds (a series of U.S. dollar-denominated senior unsecured bonds) listed on an overseas market.

"Response to climate change" is one of the Key Sustainability Issues (ESG Materiality), which Aozora has positioned as an area central to realizing its management philosophy.

The Bank has been making steady progress toward Aozora's Sustainability Targets, medium- to long-term goals established in September 2021. These targets were subsequently reviewed and revised in line with the new Mid-term Plan "Aozora 2025".

With regards to sustainable finance including environmental finance (such as for renewable energy and green building projects), Aozora initially announced a plan to achieve a financing target of 1 trillion yen (including environmental financing of 700 billion yen) by FY2030. The deadline has now been brought forward from FY2030 to FY2027, which drives the Bank's initiatives even further.

Aozora has issued Green Bonds as a part of the financing related to the aforementioned environmental financing initiatives. This is the third Green Bond issuance following the previous issues in March 2021 and March 2023.

Green Bonds issued by Aozora are included under Aozora's Green Bond Framework, which is in accordance with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA)'s "Green Bond Principles 2018"*1 as well as the Japanese Ministry of the Environment's "Green Bond Guidelines 2020"*2. The framework has obtained a Second-Party Opinion*3 from Sustainalytics, an external certification organization.

The Aozora Group incorporates sustainability into all of its financial services and activities as a business entity, and strives to actively contribute to the sustainable growth of society, as stated in Aozora's management philosophy.

Aozora Bank, Ltd. 6-1-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8660, Japan ℡03-6752-1111

[Overview of the Green Bond issuance]

*1 The "Green Bond Principles 2018" is a guideline regarding the issuance of Green Bonds which was formulated by the Green Bond Principles Executive Committee, a private organization whose secretarial operations are overseen by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA).

*2 The "Green Bond Guidelines 2020" is designed to be used as a reference for market actors who are considering concrete green bond-related initiatives in order to maintain the consistency of Green Bond principles. The Ministry of the Environment first formulated and announced its Green Bond guidelines in March 2017 and published a revised version in March 2020 with the aim of further popularizing Green Bonds in Japan by providing concrete examples and interpretations based on Japan's unique characteristics.

*3 For further details about Sustainalytics' Second-Party Opinion, please refer to Aozora's website.

(Contact: Tsutomu Jimbo, Business Strategy Division 03-6752-1217)

This document has been prepared for the sole purpose of publicly announcing the issuance of senior unsecured U.S. dollar-denominated bonds (the 'Bonds'), and is not intended to constitute or solicit any offer to acquire, sell or purchase securities in Japan, the United States or elsewhere. The Bonds have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act) absent registration or an exemption from the registration requirements under the Securities Act. No public offering of the Bonds will be made in the United States.

Aozora Bank, Ltd. 6-1-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8660, Japan ℡03-6752-1111