On August 27, 2024, Mizuho Financial Group issued a EUR 500 million green bond. The medium-term business plan, starting from FY2023, puts forth Mizuho's long-term vision for the world, centering on personal well-being and the achievement of a sustainable society and economy to support it. To achieve this vision, we have defined strategies to be focused on by back-casting from the vision of the world we aim to attain in 10 years’ time.

The response to climate change is positioned as the most important issue among one of our core business themes, Sustainability & Innovation. We are supporting our clients’ sustainability transformation (SX) by leveraging Mizuho’s strengths. Specifically, we aim to strengthen Japanese industries’ competitiveness and balance economic and social value by leading structural transformation of industries toward decarbonization through supporting our clients’ steady transitions toward 2030 and future-oriented clients’ actions.

To meet the massive demand for climate change financing, we have set a sustainable finance target of JPY 100 trillion, of which JPY 50 trillion is earmarked for environment and climate-related finance and generates further money flows.

In order to increase the financing for the transition to a low-carbon society further, this green bond we have issued serves as a portion of funds for environmental and climate change-related finance and responds to the needs of investors who have a high level of interest in the environmental field. We have issued and managed green bonds based on a green bond framework we renewed in February 2023, which is in line with the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles 2021. The framework has obtained a second-party opinion from Sustainalytics, a third-party certification organization.

We will provide the funds we raise through the issuance of this green bond to our subsidiary Mizuho Bank, Ltd. (President & CEO: Masahiko Kato), which will use them to finance environmentally-friendly projects, including renewable energy (hereinafter “green projects”).

At Mizuho, we are strengthening our initiatives to realize sustainable society. We make challenges for SX (Sustainability Transformation) with our customers by providing not only sustainable finance to create money flow to solve environmental and social issues but also solutions leveraging our knowledge and capabilities beyond financings.

This press release has been prepared for the sole purpose of publicly announcing Mizuho Financial Group’s issuance of the Notes, and not for the purpose of soliciting investment or engaging in any other similar activities within or outside Japan. This press release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The Notes have not been, and will not be, registered under the Financial Instruments Exchange Act of Japan or the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Notes may not be offered or sold within Japan or the United States or to U.S. persons, or in any other jurisdictions where registration is required for the offering of the Notes absent registration or an exemption from registration under, as applicable, the Financial Instruments Exchange Act of Japan, the Securities Act, or any other applicable securities laws. No public offering of the Notes will take place in Japan or the United States.