Garanti BBVA has won two awards for its $20.22 million biodiversity blue bond issuance, the first biodiversity-themed issuance in Türkiye's capital markets.

Proceeds from the three-year bond are allocated towards activities that conserve or sustainably manage marine biodiversity in the Mediterranean basin.

This includes sustainable tourism, responsible fisheries, and sustainable water management projects, chosen for their relevance to the Mediterranean ecosystem.

The bond was aligned with the International Capital Markets Association's Green Bond Principles and the International Finance Corporation's Biodiversity Finance Reference Guide and the Guidelines for Blue Finance.

It has also committed to annual allocation and impact reporting.

The bank said the bond should help highlight how capital markets could address nature-related risks and considerations, acting as a reference point for the development of similar instruments.

Environmental Finance Sustainable Debt Awards judges labelled the bond as a "rare, high-innovation use-of-proceeds concept" and praised the bond for directing proceeds explicitly towards biodiversity outcomes, with eligibility linked to real-economy activities

They said the bond was a "strong thematic innovation with the potential to broaden the sustainable debt market beyond carbon".