After assisting the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the issuance of its first catastrophe bond offerings, Michael Roth of Munich Re has highlighted how the transactions are an important proof of the reinsurer’s Capital Partners Public Sector objectives.
We reported in late April,
that the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) first catastrophe bonds had been priced in the market, securing a $160 million capital market-backed source of parametric earthquake and extreme precipitation disaster risk financing, evenly split $80 million each across issuances for beneficiaries the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan.
This marked a significant initial advancement in the catastrophe bond market for the ADB and its member countries, as the multilateral development bank has successfully demonstrated the concept of issuing what it refers to as Disaster Relief Bonds (DRB) to assist two of its members, thereby obtaining effective disaster risk financing from institutional and insurance-linked securities (ILS) investors.
Reinsurance giant Munich Re acted as sole structuring agent for the first ADB issued catastrophe bonds, while Aon Securities LLC acted in the roles of dealer, initial purchaser, and sole bookrunner.
Michael Roth, Public Sector Practice Lead at Munich Re’s Capital Partners, noted that the firm provided essential advisory and structuring support for the inaugural issuance.
“We are proud of having supported ADB with advisory and structuring support for its first Cat Bond issuances,” he said.
He continued: “ADB brands its new instrument as Disaster Resilient Bonds to highlight the unique characteristics of these bonds: In the case of a triggering event the proceeds of the bonds are directly transferred to the accounts of pre-registered affected, vulnerable households.”
Roth also highlights how the transaction serves as a successful “proof of concept” for Munich Re’s Capital Partners public sector practice.
“The transaction is for us another important proof point for the objectives of Munich Re’s CAP Public Sector Business Practice: To combine solutions that permit to contribute to the achievement of SDGs with the development of business for Munich Re. For reaching scale that makes a difference, this is an important prerequisite!”
Meanwhile, Roberta Casali, Vice-President for Finance and Risk Management at the ADB recently explained how the cat bonds will provide committed financing for disasters, while also stating that she hopes the first ADB cat bonds will “pave the way for future issuances,” and over time deepen investor engagement within the region.
As a reminder, you can read all about these first Asian Development Bank catastrophe bonds in our extensive cat bond Deal Directory, listed as Asian Development Bank – Kyrgyz Republic 2026 and Asian Development Bank – Tajikistan 2026.
