EIB

The political manoeuvrings in Italy’s path to being governed — as well as poor eurozone economic data — played havoc with rates this week, leading to SSA deals either paying higher new issue concessions, or falling short of subscription. More volatility could come, after the country’s president approved the likely coalition partners’ choice of prime minister but held back from appointing a eurosceptic economist to take charge of the country’s economy. Craig McGlashan reports.

The European Commission adopted its first Sustainable Finance package on Thursday — draft laws that will begin to implement its strategy. The proposals have been changed at the request of an internal EC committee, to make them more workable, especially when it comes to the planned Taxonomy of green and sustainable activities.

The European Investment Bank has printed a new Climate Awareness Bond — its sole euro green bond for 2018 — opting for an aggressive price and falling short of full subscription. A French agency will follow the supranational’s lead, mandating for a deal with the same tenor.

This week's funding scorecard looks at the progress various supranationals have made in their funding programmes.

Supranationals are making the most of demand in Romanian lei, picking up short dated funding in the currency.

Some supranationals want to see their efforts to print green bonds rewarded with tighter pricing, hoping to set a precedent that will spread through the market. But some worry that setting the pricing bar higher for green bonds than vanilla as a matter of course could deter investors. Lewis McLellan reports.

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

The European Investment Bank (EIB) tapped a five year Mexican peso line on Monday, becoming the latest supranational to access the popular niche currency, in what is by far the strongest start to the year on record for supranational issuance in the currency.

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.

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.

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