Media release: Helvetia issues the first green hybrid bond worth CHF 200 million

Media release

St.Gallen, 13 November 2020

Helvetia issues the first green hybrid bond worth CHF 200 million

Via its subsidiary Helvetia Swiss Insurance Company Ltd, Helvetia has placed a green, subordinated bond worth CHF 200 million. With the hybrid bond, Helvetia is offering investors the opportunity to participate in its sustainability targets.

Helvetia has successfully issued a first green hybrid bond worth CHF 200 million. It is thus enabling Helvetia investors to participate in and support its sustainability targets. The basis for the bond is Helvetia's Green Bond Framework. The funds will be used, among other things, to develop the company's real estate portfolio while taking sustainability criteria into account. Helvetia develops and manages its real estate portfolio itself and can thus implement measures across the entire life cycle in a targeted manner. Helvetia also invests in renewable energies and environmentally friendly mobility, either directly or indirectly. "With our corporate responsibility strategy we specifically take account of environmental, social and governance aspects in our daily business activities. The green hybrid bond is a further step in the implementation of this approach", explains Annelis Lüscher Hämmerli, CFO at Helvetia.

The subordinated bond has been placed via the subsidiary Helvetia Swiss Insurance Company Ltd and is unlimited. The first optional redemption date is in May 2028. Until the first redemption date, the coupon is 1.75%.

The Green Bond Framework and the related Second Party Opinion can be downloaded at www.helvetia.com/bonds-and-rating.

This media release is also available on our website www.helvetia.com/media.

For further information please contact:

Analysts Susanne Tengler Head of Investor Relations Phone: [phone] [e-mail]

Media Jonas Grossniklaus Head of Media Relations Phone: [phone] [e-mail]

About the Helvetia Group

In over 160 years, the Helvetia Group has grown from a number of Swiss and foreign insurance companies into a successful international insurance group. Helvetia is one of the leading all-line insurers in its home market of Switzerland. With the countries Germany, Italy, Austria and Spain, which have been combined to form the Market Area Europe, the company has a second strong pillar. With its Specialty Markets market area, Helvetia is also present in France and in selected regions worldwide. Some of its investment and financing activities are managed through subsidiaries and fund companies in Luxembourg. The Group is headquartered in St.Gallen, Switzerland.

Helvetia is active in the life and non-life business, and also offers customised specialty lines and reinsurance cover. Its business activities focus on retail customers as well as small and medium-sized companies and larger corporates. With some 11,500 employees, the company provides services to more than 7 million customers. With a business volume of CHF 9.45 billion, Helvetia generated an IFRS result after tax of CHF 538.1 million in financial year 2019. The registered shares of Helvetia Holding are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the symbol HELN.

Important information

This document does not constitute an offer, a solicitation to purchase or subscribe bonds or other securities of Helvetia or one of its Group companies nor a prospectus pursuant to Art. 652a and Art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, as these articles were in force prior to the entry into force of the Financial Services Act ("FinSA"). Neither does this document constitute a prospectus pursuant to Art. 35ff. FinSA and the applicable provisions of the Financial Services Ordinance or a listing prospectus pursuant to the Listing Rules of SIX Swiss Exchange or a prospectus or equivalent document in accordance with other applicable legislation. In the relevant member states of the European Economic Area no provisions have been or are being made that would enable the bonds to be offered for public sale. This document is also available in other languages. In the event of discrepancies, the German version shall be binding.

This press release is for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute or form a part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities in the United States of America, Australia, Canada, Japan, or any other jurisdiction. The securities mentioned herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended ("Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States of America, and may not be offered or sold within the United States of America except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state or local securities laws. This press release does not contain or constitute an offer of, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for, securities to any person or in the United States of America or in any other jurisdiction.

The Bonds are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area ("EEA") or the United Kingdom ("UK"). For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended or replaced from time to time) ("MiFID II"), (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97 (the "IDD"), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II, or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Regulation. Consequently, no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (the "PRIIPs Regulation") for offering or selling the Bonds or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA or in the UK has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the Bonds or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA or in the UK may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation.

The offer of the Bonds will be made pursuant to exemptions under the Prospectus Regulation from the requirement to produce a prospectus in connection with offers of securities.

MiFID II product governance / Retail investors, professional investors and ECPs target market - Solely for the purposes of the product approval process of any entity which is a manufacturer in relation to the Bonds (pursuant to MIFID II product governance rules), the target market assessment in respect of the Bonds has led to the conclusion that: (i) the target market for the Bonds is eligible counterparties and professional clients, each as defined in MiFID II; and (ii) all channels for distribution of the Bonds to eligible counterparties and professional clients are appropriate, subject to the distributor's suitability and appropriateness obligations under MiFID II, as applicable. The target market and distribution channel(s) may vary in relation to sales outside the EEA or the UK in light of local regulatory regimes in force in the relevant jurisdiction. Any person subsequently offering, selling or recommending the Bonds (a "Distributor") should take into consideration the manufacturers' target market assessment; however, a Distributor subject to MiFID II is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the Bonds (by either adopting or refining the manufacturers' target market assessment) and determining appropriate distribution channels.

For readers in the United Kingdom, this announcement is only being distributed to and is only directed at Qualified Investors who are (i) outside the United Kingdom or (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) ("Investment professionals") of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (iii) certain high value persons and entities who fall within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("High net worth companies, unincorporated associations etc.") of the Order; or (iv) any other person to whom it may lawfully be communicated (all such persons in (i) to (iv) together being referred to as "relevant persons"). The Bonds are expected to only be available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such Bonds will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this announcement or any of its contents.

Cautionary note

This document was prepared by Helvetia Group and may not be copied, altered, offered, sold or otherwise distributed to any other person by any recipient without the consent of Helvetia Group. The German version of this document is decisive and binding. Versions of the document in other languages are made available purely for information purposes. Although all reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the facts stated herein are correct and the opinions contained herein are fair and reasonable, where any information and statistics are quoted from any external source such information or statistics should not be interpreted as having been adopted or endorsed as accurate by Helvetia Group. Neither Helvetia Group nor any of its directors, officers, employees and advisors nor any other person shall have any liability whatsoever for loss howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of this information. The facts and information contained in this document are as up to date as is reasonably possible but may be subject to revision in the future. Neither Helvetia Group nor any of its directors, officers, employees or advisors nor any other person makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this document.

This document may contain projections or other forward-looking statements related to Helvetia Group which by their very nature involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and there is a risk that predictions, forecasts, projections and other outcomes described or implied in forward-looking statements will not be achieved. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause results to differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include: (1) changes in general economic conditions, in particular in the markets in which we operate; (2) the performance of financial markets; (3) changes in interest rates; (4) changes in currency exchange rates; (5) changes in laws and regulations, including accounting policies or practices; (6) risks associated with implementing our business strategies; (7) the frequency, magnitude and general development of insured events; (8) mortality and morbidity rates; (9) policy renewal and lapse rates as well as (10), the realisation of economies of scale as well as synergies. We caution you that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive; when evaluating forward-looking statements, you should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to Helvetia Group on the date of its publication and Helvetia Group assumes no obligation to update such statements unless otherwise required by applicable law.

Media release (PDF)

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