For the third year running, Mizuho was named as the winner of the Lead manager of the Year, green bonds – local authority/municipality, and the fourth time in total. It also picked up the Lead manager of the year, transition bonds for the second year in a row and added the Lead manager of the Year, social bonds – corporate to its haul.

Last year, Mizuho was lead manager in 16 green bond deals involving Japanese municipalities. Among its standout deals last year, Mizuho supported the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Kawasaki City in the issuance of JPY8 billion ($52 million) in green bonds whose proceeds will be used for eligible green projects.

In the transition bond space, Mizuho continued to lead the market and has underwritten bonds valued at JPY355.1 billion between 2021 and 2024, including bonds for 11 corporate issuers spread across a range of sectors last year. One of its most noteworthy deals was a transition bond for Kyushu Electric Power, Japan's first-ever transition-labelled bond for nuclear power generation.

Finally, in corporate social bonds, Mizuho has established itself as a leader in the space involved in such high-profile deals as German real estate company Vonovia's €850 million ($917 million), a 10-year bond aimed at financing social projects such as apartments for low-income households.