Regional financial services provider CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank is seeking to establish itself as the leading financier of renewable energy projects.

Chief Executive Officer Colette Delaney underscored that the bank’s commitment to the regional renewable energy sector “represents a departure from the historical construct where extra-regional development banks have been the main financiers of renewable energy projects.

“Renewable energy developers now understand that our support for projects in the sector means that there is more than a single pathway to financing their projects in the region,” she continued.

Delaney was addressing a gathering at the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF) in Miami, Florida, where it won the award for Best Renewable Energy Financing in the 2022 CREF Industry Awards ceremony. The forum convened its first in-person gathering since the novel coronavirus pandemic with over 25 countries represented and regional stakeholders in attendance.

CIBC FirstCaribbean was recognised for its innovation and leadership in corporate financing of key initiatives in the renewable energy sector.

“Our bank will continue to focus on the types of investments that can be a catalyst to our region’s recovery, such as renewable energy investments. Infrastructure investment, in general, is important to stimulate the economy, put people back to work, create new jobs and encourage increased cash flow circulation to resuscitate our economies and ensure our future success,” the CEO of CIBC FirstCaribbean stated.

This is not the first time that CREF has recognised CIBC FirstCaribbean for its role in arranging similar deals in the renewable energy space. Back in 2017, the bank received the CREF “Project Finance Deal of the Year” award for financing of the first utility-scale solar PV project in the Cayman Islands.

Just last year, the bank arranged US$2 billion in transactions and doubled its investment in the regional renewable energy sector to US$150 million. Between 2020 and 2021, it spearheaded the refinancing of project portfolios of two major renewable energy players in the Caribbean.

One of the deals CIBC FirstCaribbean arranged was the refinancing of BMR Energy’s loan portfolio for wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) assets in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Guatemala. Although it was the lead arranger for the US$88-million credit facility, it jointly funded it with National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited.

It was also the lead arranger for a US$46-million senior term loan to WRB Energy’s subsidiary Content Solar Limited back in December 2020. Located in Content Village, Clarendon, the project is Jamaica’s first utility-scale photovoltaic plant covering 154 acres.

“We have sustained our leadership position in renewable energy sector financing and our commitment to the sustainable economic development of the islands of the Caribbean,” it stated in a recent LinkedIn post.

Moreover, it credited its “award-winning” success to its investment banking team and renewable energy financing specialists providing clients with “bespoke financial solutions including corporate lending, capital markets access and transaction advisory services”.