Washington, D.C., June 20, 2023 - The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD, Aaa/AAA) today issued a Swedish Kroner 1 billion 5-year Sustainable Development Bond while engaging with investors on the importance of road safety during the launch. Folksam is the sole investor in this transaction and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) arranged the transaction.
The World Bank raises funds by issuing Sustainable Development Bonds in international capital markets to support the financing of sustainable development projects in developing countries across a range of sectors. Projects are designed to achieve positive social and environmental impact in line with the World Bank's "twin goals" of eliminating extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner.
In developing countries where social safety nets are fragile, injuries and fatalities from traffic crashes disproportionately affect low-income households. In addition to the human tragedy, loss of income and high medical expenses have a tangible impact on country-wide efforts to reduce poverty and hold onto hard-won economic gains. The World Bank works with its member countries to ensure that road safety is mainstreamed through relevant investment decisions in areas like transportation and urban development. In addition, World Bank programs focus on strengthening local, regional, and national institutions for better engineering, road safety management, improved training, enforcement, and emergency medical and rehabilitation services for post-crash care.
Jorge Familiar, Vice President and Treasurer, World Bank, said, "People in low-income countries bear the highest proportion of the economic and social burden of road crashes, integrating road safety across all relevant World Bank activities has great ability for positive impact. We are grateful to Folksam for supporting our activities and highlighting road safety as a development priority."
"Road safety is a key issue for the Folksam Group. We have been conducting road safety research in Sweden for over 50 years and have long been involved in road safety issues. Now, together with the World Bank, we are taking another important step forward by highlighting that private capital can support investments in road safety. We also do it in a way that is beneficial in several respects - contributing to a more sustainable world by enabling necessary funding to projects on the ground level while providing safe and attractive investments on behalf of our clients," said Ylva Wessén, president and CEO of the Folksam Group.
