Emirates NBD Capital (EmCap) has established itself as a leading force in advancing transition finance across the Middle East, demonstrating innovation, scale, and market-shaping influence across multiple sustainable finance instruments.
Winning the award for Sustainability coordinator of the year, the investment bank reports it supported clients in mobilising more than $35 billion in sustainable finance and over $20 billion in labelled bonds across 20 transactions in 2025–2026, tailoring solutions to different markets, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Hong Kong.
Notable transactions include Ziraat's $1.7 billion sustainability-linked loan (SLL), one of the largest and most widely syndicated deals of its kind, and Al Rajhi's sustainability Murabaha facility.
The firm also acted as sustainability coordinator for the world's first sustainability-linked financing (SLF) sukuk issued by Emirates Islamic. The $500 million transaction won it the accolade for Sustainability bond deal of the year and marks a critical milestone for the region. Given that approximately half of labelled debt capital market issuances in the Middle East are in sukuk format, this innovation is particularly significant.
The transaction was strongly received, attracting a $1.2 billion order book and achieving a 2.4x oversubscription, underscoring strong investor appetite for credible transition-linked instruments. The deal also won the award for Sustainable sukuk deal of the year.
Also, winning the award for Lead manager of the year, green bonds, EmCap played a role in a series of high-profile green issuances in the eligibility period. These include Sobha Realty's green Sukuk – the largest ever issued by a real estate firm – as well as innovative blue, digital, and green bonds for Emirates NBD.
EmCap also supported key regional and international issuers such as Aldar, PIF, SAB, Turkcell, and Zorlu Enerji, demonstrating its ability to facilitate transition financing across sectors and geographies.
One Middle East Transition Finance Awards judge commended EmCap for its "strong regional leadership and structuring role in major green and blue bond issuances".
Beyond execution, EmCap plays a central role in shaping the global sustainable finance architecture. It is the only Middle East-based member of key International Capital Market Association (ICMA) advisory bodies and working groups, contributing directly to the development of guidelines for sustainability-linked bonds and sukuk.
Its involvement in these initiatives has translated into tangible market outcomes, including the origination of first-of-its-kind instruments following the release of new frameworks. The firm has also contributed to global thought leadership, including the World Economic Forum and international policy reports on sustainable and digital finance.
Another judge called EmCap "passionate, innovative" and "deliberate" noting the bank's "very strong local knowledge".
