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Alpha Bank Launches €500 Million Green Senior Preferred Bond

Alpha Bank is making a strategic entry into sustainable finance with the launch of its inaugural green senior preferred bond, aiming to raise up to €500 million. The six‐year maturity bond, callable after five years, is anticipated to offer investors an interest rate of approximately 3 per cent.

Investment-Grade Milestone

This issuance is notable for its Baa2 rating from Moody’s, marking it as Alpha Bank’s first full investment grade debt in recent years. Such a rating underlines the bank’s robust financial positioning while enhancing its credibility in the green finance market.

Coordinated With Leading Global Banks

A distinguished consortium of financial institutions is managing the bond offering. BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB, HSBC, J.P. Morgan (B&D), Morgan Stanley, and UniCredit are jointly leading the effort. Additionally, Crédit Agricole CIB is positioned as the Green Structuring Bank, reinforcing the issuance’s environmental objectives.

Strategic Market Implications

This issuance not only strengthens Alpha Bank’s commitment to sustainable growth but also aligns with broader market trends towards incorporating environmental, social, and governance factors into financial strategies. As green finance continues to reshape investment landscapes, Alpha Bank’s move may serve as a benchmark for future eco-friendly capital market initiatives.

Amazon Deepens Prime Video Shopping With New X-Ray And Lens Features

Amazon is adding new shopping features to Prime Video, allowing viewers to discover products connected to thousands of titles through its existing X-Ray experience.

The company is also introducing “Shop the Scene,” powered by its Lens visual search technology, alongside updates designed to connect video content more directly with shopping.

From Viewing To Shopping

The new tools build on Shop the Show, launched last year through Amazon’s mobile shopping app. Previously, viewers had to search for “shop the show” to find products related to a program.

Now, X-Ray users can open a Shop tab directly from Fire TV to see products associated with the title. Purchases are completed through the Amazon Shopping app, which can recognize the content being watched and open a synchronized product feed.

The app can also identify what is playing and take viewers directly to a storefront, removing the need for a separate search.

Amazon Targets Shoppable Streaming

Amazon is joining a broader push to combine entertainment and commerce. YouTube offers creator merchandise and shoppable connected-TV ads, while Peacock has tested shoppable programming through Must ShopTV.

Roku has enabled shopping through its remote, while Disney has experimented with shoppable television across Disney+, Hulu and ESPN.

Shop The Scene Uses Visual Search

“Shop the Scene” uses Amazon Lens to identify products or similar items based on what appears on screen, including clothing and home decor.

Exact matches will not always be available because some costumes and other items are custom-made, high-end or unavailable through Amazon sellers. The feature can instead help viewers find similar products or recreate a particular style.

Shop the Scene is available on iOS and Android in the U.S. across more than 600 titles. Meanwhile, Shop the Show is expanding from 1,300 titles to more than 8,000, including Prime Originals, selected licensed content and live sports.

For Amazon, the changes bring shopping closer to the viewing experience, potentially creating another way to generate commerce from Prime Video’s audience.

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