Deutsche Bank executes its first ESG-linked repo transaction globally with Turkey's Akbank

Deutsche Bank has announced the successful execution of its first ESG-linked repurchase agreement (repo) transaction globally with Turkey’s Akbank. The US$300m transaction is also the first time ESG and sustainability targets have been attached to interbank financing in repo format in Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA).

Akbank partnered with Deutsche Bank to structure and execute the transaction. Deutsche Bank developed the ESG-linked repo transaction to align Akbank’s existing sustainability efforts with its financing strategy. The structure of the transaction links the repo interest rate to Akbank’s performance with respect to three areas of ESG key performance indicators: 1) gender balance, 2) electricity sourcing of Akbank from renewable resources, and 3) no greenfield coal power plant loan origination.

"This first-of-a-kind regional transaction is evidence of our ESG structuring ability, expertise in designing ESG metrics, and commitment to working in partnership with a leading institution to create positive impact on society," said Orhan Ozalp, head of Global Emerging Markets (GEM) for Central and Eastern Europe and CEO of Deutsche Bank AS Turkey. "After this landmark deal, Deutsche Bank’s ESG-linked financing in Turkey will exceed 5 billion Turkish lira in the first six months of the year."

Deutsche Bank has placed sustainability at the core of its business and is committed to helping clients transition to a net-zero carbon economy, helping clients to define and achieve sustainability strategies and make contributions to environmental and social objectives while meeting their financing needs. This transaction will contribute towards Deutsche Bank’s target of facilitating over €200bn in sustainable finance and investments by 2023.

 

Coupa launches business spend management app marketplace

Coupa Software has launched the Coupa App Marketplace, which connects businesses with certified, pre-built solutions that create a way to tap into a trusted global community of business spend management (BSM) partners.

With the complexity of today’s business landscape, companies increasingly need technology partners that help them deliver greater efficiency, agility, and value. Coupa says that its focus on building an open BSM community ensures that businesses develop genuine partnerships that enable them to thrive in today’s environment.

The new marketplace offers solutions to extend a customer’s existing tech stack and deepen their BSM capabilities so they can easily share information, automate workflows, and conduct key tasks. Solutions from the Coupa App Marketplace range from supply chain insights to supplier risk analysis through to travel and expense and IT management. They are designed to enable quick access of off-the-shelf applications and integrations to address evolving business needs, provide seamless linking between systems for a single source of truth and end-to-end workflows, and deliver expert deployment of limited IT resources through secure applications specifically built for Coupa’s platform.

The Coupa App Marketplace features a continuously growing range of apps, for an array of business functions, from partners such as Kofax, Vertex, SourceDay, Per Angusta, The Smart Cube, EcoVadis, and SecurityScorecard, among others.

 

Intellect announces cloud-based transaction banking platform

Intellect Global Transaction Banking (iGTB), which currently has over 90 banks globally and more than 30 banks in the MENA region using it for their digital cash transformation, has announced an overhaul of its Digital Transaction Banking on a cloud platform. 

The firm says that a key tenet of this redesigned cash management platform is to embrace simplicity in digital banking transformation, for banks to stay relevant to their customers and investors by adopting latest cloud technology without high capex investments.

The platform covers cash management, payments, account services, self-onboarding, liquidity and virtual accounts, and is offered across three bundles - the CashNow plan, the CashXtra plan, and the CashPowerplan. Each bundle is tailored specifically for banks at various stages of their transaction banking digital maturity, with a pay-as-you-grow pricing model. As a result, the company says that banks will now be able to capture stable, predictable corporate and SME fee revenues in weeks rather than months.

iGTB claims that its fully managed, cloud-ready Digital Transaction Banking Platform will help de-risk banks’ IT operations with up to 40% reduction in IT total cost of operations (TCO). Pre-configured domain packs for the GCC and North African markets will speed up bank’s go-to-market product launch aided by the operationally-ready suite of more than 135 open banking APIs to help roll out features.