Latham Advises on First-Ever Multi-Country Listed Gender Bond Series

Latham has advised on Impact Investment Exchange’s US$12 million Women’s Livelihood BondTM2 (WLB2). This is the Asia-Pacific’s second multi-country gender bond to be listed on a stock exchange (the Singapore Exchange), creating sustainable livelihoods for 250,000+ underserved women in the region. The WLB2 is the second bond in the award-winning Women’s Livelihood Bond Series (WLB Series), debt securities that will create sustainable livelihoods for over 2 million women across Asia through innovative finance. The WLB Series shall benefit from a partial guarantee provided by the United States Agency for International Development and the Rockefeller Foundation has provided first-loss capital for the bonds issued by WLB2. 
 
The WLB Series are the first listed gender lens bonds for several countries in Asia, including Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. Its key innovations include: (1) being the world’s first gender lens instrument listed on a stock exchange; (2) creating a deep impact investment product suitable for institutions and private banking clients; and (3) demonstrating scalability and replicability across geographies and sectors. 
 
Latham advised DBS, Standard Chartered, and ANZ. Led by Singapore partner Rajiv Gupta, the team included Singapore counsel Louis Rabinowitz and associate Esha Goel. Additional support was provided by London partner Lene Malthasen, Chicago partner Nabil Sabki, Chicago associates John Reinert and Jina Yun, and Singapore associate Marcus Tan.