Latest stories on Socially Responsible Investments

• Sustainable finance — European Parliament hoists the green flag

  

  In the three-legged race that is European lawmaking, one of the legs has just made a big stride forward in sustainable finance policy, publishing the most ambitious plan so far.

  • 24 Apr 2018

• BBVA to offer three flavours of sustainable bond

  

  BBVA has announced a framework for three different types of sustainable bonds, amid a wave of interest in green bond issuance by European banks. A transaction would be the first unsecured sustainable bond from a Spanish bank.

  • 23 Apr 2018

• HKEX begins new era with dual-class, biotech IPOs

  

  The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) will start taking IPO applications from Monday under its new regime to encourage technology listings.

  • 09:45 AM

• Spain to Sweden, covered bonds go green

  

  Caja Rural de Navarra (CRN) mandated leads on Tuesday for a €500m seven year sustainable covered bond which is likely be launched on Wednesday. At the same time, Landshypotek Bank AB mandated leads for a roadshow to present its green framework ahead of a five year Swedish krona covered bond benchmark.

  • 24 Apr 2018

• Norway’s syndicated debut no prelude to green

  

  The Kingdom of Norway’s debut bond syndication, priced on Thursday last week, does not herald the Scandinavian country’s turn to the green bond market, despite widespread hopes on the SRI scene that the country could expand the tiny pool of sovereign green issuers.

  • 23 Apr 2018

• World Bank bolsters funding team with sell-side veteran

  

  The World Bank has grown its funding team with the hiring of a well-known figure from the MTN dealer community — and will add another name soon.

  • 24 Apr 2018

• NIB ‘prices tight’ with SRI bond in euro ‘sweet spot’

  

  The Nordic Investment Bank paid 'flat to 1bp' of new issue premium on Tuesday as it brought an environmental bond in in the seven year area — which bankers are calling the 'sweet spot' of the euro curve.

  • 24 Apr 2018

• Dutch duo EM loan fund hits $250m

  

  The investment arm of Dutch agency FMO and NN Investment Partners has raised $250m in its first round of fundraising for an emerging and frontier market loan fund, surpassing the minimum target by 25%.

  • 24 Apr 2018

• Dividend Solar closes second ABS offering

  

  Residential solar lender Dividend Solar has closed its second solar securitization.

  • 24 Apr 2018

• NIB to bring more SRI supply as NWB nearly twice subscribed

  

  A flash of public sector SRI bond issuance last week heated up on Monday, as Nederlandse Waterschapsbank found a strong reception for an affordable housing bond and Nordic Investment Bank prepared an environmental offering in a tenor that bankers said was attracting strong demand.

  • 23 Apr 2018

• Nghi Son 2 raises $1.9bn for electricity generation project

  

  Vietnam’s Nghi Son 2 Power, which counts Japanese trading and investment conglomerate Marubeni Corp as one of its investors, has raised a $1.869bn project loan from a group of mainly Japanese lenders.

  • 23 Apr 2018

• Envision Energy goes green with $300m debut

  

  China’s Envision Energy Overseas Capital Co grabbed $300m from a green bond on Thursday after weeks of wooing investors. But price discovery posed a challenge because of renewable companies coming under pressure recently.

  • 20 Apr 2018

• Investors cheer as JPM applies ESG to EMBI

  

  Emerging market bond investors have welcomed JP Morgan’s launch this week of a new suite of indices that integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. The indices could help investors launch new funds.

  • 19 Apr 2018

• S&P takes on MSCI in ESG ratings as political pressure rises

  

  S&P Global Ratings is preparing to launch an ESG Evaluation product, competing directly with socially responsible investment (SRI) rating firms such as MSCI and Sustainalytics.

  • 19 Apr 2018

• Sharpe! EM impact investment loans safe and stable, report says

  

  One of the drawbacks of the strong growth in interest in responsible investing is that many investors only want to take conventional kinds of risk — such as buying large, liquid equities or investment grade bonds. But a report out this week suggests even small, obscure impact investments have a safe risk profile — perhaps even better than mainstream investments.

  • 19 Apr 2018

• HK green credentials boosted by supra deals

  

  A pair of supranationals helped bolster Hong Kong’s green bond ambitions with some SRI deals this week.

  • 19 Apr 2018

• You can't just recycle if you believe in ESG

  

  Two pieces of news this week highlight how environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing is conquering the capital markets. But both carry a risk of intellectual laziness.

  • 19 Apr 2018

• IDA delights in dollars with other SDR currencies to come

  

  Public sector bankers lined up to laud a new SSA borrower this week, as the International Development Association (IDA) surpassed expectations on its bond debut. Now, many are eager to see the its next move, with many anticipating a Washington supranational with greater currency flexibility, writes Craig McGlashan.

  • 19 Apr 2018

• IDA: from ‘Who’s that?’ to ‘Who’s Who’

  

  IDA has existed since 1960, is owned by 173 countries and is a legally independent entity with “the same status, immunities and privileges as IBRD and IFC” — yet in the world of bond financing, it was up until about a month ago effectively an unknown entity.

  • 19 Apr 2018

• SRI flurry as NWB preps deal and EIB comes in sevens

  

  After several weeks of focusing on conventional bonds in core currencies, SSAs popped back into the socially responsible investments (SRI) market this week. Nederlandse Waterschapsbank (NWB) is laying the ground for an affordable housing bond in euros, while the European Investment Bank found a solid reception for a Climate Awareness Bond that came in rare seven year dollar form.

  • 18 Apr 2018

• Ygrene gets S&P green score, ratings for latest ABS

  

  Ygrene Energy Fund is in the market with its latest Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) securitization, securing both a green evaluation score and credit ratings from S&P Global Ratings for the first time. Deal watchers say that participation from one of the ‘big three’ rating agencies will help boost market participation in the growing asset class.

  • 19 Apr 2018

• World Bank sells maiden Hong Kong dollar green bond

  

  The World Bank has raised HK$1bn ($127.39m) from its debut green bond denominated in Hong Kong dollars, making it the first supranational issuer to sell a syndicated green bond in the city.

  • 17 Apr 2018

• Investors struggle with Star Energy project bond

  

  Indonesia’s Star Energy Geothermal raised $580m from its debut green bond this week, selling a deal that also had some of the hallmarks of a project finance deal — a rare combination in Asia’s credit market. But the deal hit several speed bumps along the way. Morgan Davis reports.

  • 19 Apr 2018

• EIB USD1.5bn 2.875% Jun 25 Climate Awareness Bond

  • 19 Apr 2018

• Solar, residential PACE securitization buyer base grows

  

  Solar and Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) market players at IMN’s Green Investing Conference in New York on Wednesday acknowledged heightened investor participation on securitizations from both asset classes over the past year, but warned issuers to move cautiously as rates rise in 2018.

  • 18 Apr 2018

• EIB goes for rare dollar sevens with CAB trade

  

  The European Investment Bank is set to plug a gap in its dollar Climate Awareness Bond curve after mandating banks on Tuesday for a June 2025 trade, opting for a rare seven year dollar bond.

  • 17 Apr 2018

• M&G seeks social impact with private debt fund

  

  M&G Investments has announced the public launch of a private debt fund that aims to achieve a positive social or environmental impact, while giving investors a return higher than that of public bonds. Meanwhile, a survey suggests funds of this kind make good returns.

  • 16 Apr 2018

• Hanover first city to launch green SSD

  

  Hanover has become the first city to offer a green Schuldschein.

  • 16 Apr 2018

• EIB plans new bond range to promote finance of Sustainable Development Goals

  

  The European Investment Bank is preparing a new product: Sustainability Bonds, which will complement its Climate Awareness Bonds.

  • 12 Apr 2018

• NIB on hunt for sustainability chief

  

  The Nordic Investment Bank is looking for someone to head its sustainability and mandate evaluation team, a job the supranational is redefining by moving to its treasury department.

  • 12 Apr 2018

• Banks prep first Saudi wind farm loans

  

  Banks are preparing to finance Saudi Arabia’s first utility-scale wind power project, at Dumat Al Jandal in the northern province of Al Jawf.

  • 11 Apr 2018

• Fannie edges forward in conquest of green bond market

  

  Fannie Mae, the world’s biggest green bond issuer, is negotiating with the administrators of the MSCI Bloomberg Barclays Green Bond Index to get more of its green housing loan securitizations included in the benchmark.

  • 05 Apr 2018