ING Group’s dual-tranche green bond was awarded ‘Green bond of the year’, and their Ventures fund led an investment round in Spanish personal finance platform Fintonic.

The bonds, which raised a total of USD 2.9 billion, have also seen ING secure top spot as the largest Europe-based financial institutional issuer of green bonds. Early estimates from impact reports claim the issuance may see a reduction of in excess of 4 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (which equates to the sum of roughly 430,000 people’s emissions). Proceeds from ING Group’s bond will fund a portfolio of new and existing green loans for renewable energy and green buildings, and was complimented by judges due to both the size of the issuance and its dedication reducing impact indicators.

The ING Ventures is a EUR 300 million fund resolving to build a portfolio of investments to help ING accelerate the pace of innovation and remain at the forefront of banking. ING Ventures have secured a 22% stake in Spanish start-up Fintonic, whose expertise lies in account aggregation coupled with loans and insurance provision. Fintonic recently also struck a deal with Amazon to offer users interest free credit purchases.