FirstRand Bank issued the R2.5 billion Cape Water Performance-Based Bond in April 2026, the first nature outcome bond in the register issued by a commercial bank [IC].
Right of reply
This page describes FirstRand Bank only through its published statements and the public records of the deals listed. FirstRand Bank has not yet been invited to comment. Responses and corrections will be recorded here with their date. On register pages, [MS] marks a claim that rests only on the institution’s own statement or on statements by parties to the same deal.
In the register
The register follows instruments whose terms depend on a verified ecological outcome, the broad family of the performance-based bond. The register index explains its tiers, roles and claim tags.
| Deal | Year | Family | Role | Amount | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Water Performance-Based Bond (FR31PB) | 2026 | Outcome-linked bond | Issuer | R2.5bn, five-year senior unsecured, due 30 June 2031 | [IC] |
The bond listed on the JSE on 17 April 2026 [IC]. Part of what investors earn depends on independently verified clearing of invasive alien plants in the Boland Groot Winterhoek strategic water source area, which feeds Cape Town’s dams [IC]. In a Business Day column, Michael Avery, summarizing RMB’s Martin Potgieter, writes that if the project falls short investors earn less, “but, crucially, their capital remains protected” [MS]. The FirstRand group holds several roles in the deal: Rand Merchant Bank arranged it, the FirstRand Foundation anchored the outcome funding, and Ashburton Investments is among the buyers [MS].
Related
- Nature Performance Bond Investor Register
- Rand Merchant Bank
- FirstRand Foundation
- International Finance Corporation
- FSD Africa Investments
- Aluwani Capital Partners
- Ashburton Investments
- Why Three Investors Anchored the Cape Water Bond
- Performance-Based Water Bonds
- FirstRand Bank on the Ward 2 Development Forum register, written for valley residents: FirstRand Bank
References
- JSE, “JSE welcomes Africa’s first nature-linked performance-based bond” (17 April 2026)
- RMB, “RMB launches Africa’s first nature-linked outcomes-based bond” (1 April 2026)
- FSD Africa, “FirstRand Bank issues inaugural nature-linked outcomes-based bond” (April 2026)
- Business Day, Michael Avery, “IFC backs innovative bond for Western Cape water security” (14 April 2026)
- Western Cape Government, ministers welcome the bond (April 2026)
Provenance
Drafted on 15 October 2026 from the research brief Nature performance bond investors.md, compiled the same day from five research strands: outcome-linked and sustainability-linked bonds, environmental impact bonds, debt-for-nature conversions, insurers and reinsurers, and the largest asset managers with their regulatory context. Claim tags follow the brief, which never upgraded a claim without a source and lowered to [MS] any claim a research note had graded [IC] on the strength of a company’s own release. The headquarters country in based_in comes from general knowledge unless a deal record states it, and is to be confirmed. The brief’s search had limits: fund holdings filings, municipal bond disclosures and the Oxford INDIGO and Brookings impact bond databases were not searched, so a deal missing from this page may exist.