Exclusive: Denmark Debt Management Head: New 10-Year Green Bond Via Syndication Within Next Month

8 September 2025

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Denmarks upcoming new green bond will be issued via syndication within the next month, according to Henrik Nørby, Head of Monetary Policy Implementation and Government Debt at Danmarks Nationalbank.

In an interview with Econostream on 4 September 2025 (transcript here), Nørby discussed Denmark’s new green bond framework, unveiled a day earlier.

Under the framework, all Danish sovereign green bonds will be aligned with the EU green bond standard and will add a new eligible project category, according to Nørby.

“Sustainable land use projects have now been included”, he said. “They are all essential for reaching the overarching climate goals for Denmark.”

Asked whether further categories could be added in the future beyond sustainable land use, clean transportation and renewable energy, Nørby left the door open.

The new framework had not explored alternatives to the current twin bond model, which he noted had been “well received by the investors”.

On the expected new 10-year green bond, Nørby confirmed issuance of up to DKK10 billion in 2025, beginning with the syndication within the next month, followed by reopenings at auction.

“First, we will have a syndication within the next month and afterwards the new green bonds will be reopened in auctions”, he said. “Our previous green bond syndications have been around DKK7 billion.”

Denmark’s current issuance strategy remained focused on the 2-year and 10-year point of the curve, according to Nørby, who described the latter as “the most natural” point given its liquidity.

Issuance of a 2-year green bond was “not currently in scope”, he said, citing stronger investor demand for 10-year maturities.

Asked whether issuance volumes could increase under the expanded framework given the broader pool of eligible expenditures, Nørby said Denmark did not have a strong issuance need and described the chance of exceeding the planned DKK10 billion this year as “unlikely.”

He also pointed at this limited issuance need as the reason for primarily focusing on green bonds in the short term.

The greenium of the new green bond could be expected to be similar or “could even have higher demand” than that of the existing two green bonds, noting “a fairly strong investor demand.”

Nørby expected the deal to attract “good attention” and to further broaden Denmark’s investor base.

Regarding a potential green bond issuance in foreign currency, he said “[i]n general in Denmark we only cover Danish expenses in DKK with funding in DKK” adding that eligible green expenditures would likewise be financed through DKK-denominated issuance.

However, he cited two conditions under which a foreign currency green bond could be issued.

“We will only increase funding in foreign currencies if there's a strong need for liquidity or if there is a good reason to increase the size of the foreign exchange reserve”, he said.