The beef with sustainability-linked bonds

The sustainability-linked bond market is a nascent one but booming. It is a controversial one too, with some accusing it of being a platform for greenwashing. Those accusations escalated this week when Mighty Earth, an NGO, made a complaint to the US Securities and Exchange Commission about SLB issuer and beef production giant JBS.

The outcome is sure to resound through this market for years to come. We examine Mighty Earth’s complaint and look at JBS’s response to it. We also talk about what the consequences might be for the wider SLB market.

Meanwhile, the primary bond market has been fizzing. It has been a record year for euro issuance, for example. We look at how the bullishness in credit is affecting issuance in the financial institution and investment grade corporate bond markets. But we also question the exuberance, whether it can last and what will derail it.