European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that 30% of the funding that the EU will raise for its €750bn pandemic recovery fund will come from green bonds. That kind of volume will mean sweeping changes for the green bond market, causing trepidation in some quarters, while others rejoice.
The green bond market was conceived on a simple plan. A new class of green bonds would finance environmental projects, standing out from the grey mass of ordinary bonds.
Sustainability-linked bonds took a full year to get going after Enel, the Italian power and gas company, introduced the structure in September 2019. But they are now gathering pace. This week Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical company, printed a deal, just a week after Suzano, the Brazilian pulp and paper group, had become the second issuer.
Large pricing advantages for green bonds are becoming not just common, but normal.
Bank and leasing firm Grenke has seen its share price plummet by more than half over the past two days after becoming the latest target of Viceroy Research, the activist short seller known for its campaigns against Wirecard and Steinhoff. German regulator Bafin has told GlobalCapital it is investigating the situation.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been a health and economic disaster — but it also creates opportunities, say responsible investing experts. The new environment means financial players can become more ambitious, socially and environmentally.
Cyrus Ardalan, chair of the board of directors at the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), discussed whether others could follow his organisation's model to finance solutions to social challenges at the GlobalCapital Sustainable and Responsible Capital Markets Virtual Forum 2020 on Wednesday.
A push towards harmonising data and reporting standards in ESG finance is gaining momentum and is a much-needed move in the development of the market. This was the message from panellists at GlobalCapital’s Sustainable and Responsible Investment Capital Markets Virtual Forum this week.
Vivint Solar is back in the ABS market, preparing a new deal two months after it was announced that it would merge with rival solar finance firm Sunrun.
Africa Finance Corporation, the pan-African development finance institution, printed its first green bond on Monday – the first in Swiss francs from a CEEMEA supranational.
Following investor calls last week, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank hit screens on Monday to announce new dollar benchmark transactions, which will be used to support their member states in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Green and sustainable finance is going through tumultuous change, as it crashes into the mainstream of capital markets, said speakers at the GlobalCapital Sustainable and Responsible Capital Markets Forum last week.
Sovereign, supranational and agency bond issuers are mobilising their resources to support the fight against Covid-19.
Rabobank has issued its largest green bond, a day after publishing a new Sustainable Funding Framework that will enable it to print debt in four different green and social flavours — a structure it hopes will give investors more clarity.
Iberdrola, the Spanish energy company, has signed another green loan from Instituto de Crédito Oficial, months after getting financing from the lender for other renewables projects.
This week in Keeping Tabs: what scientists still don't know about coronavirus as we grapple with a second wave, ESG index funds outperformed in the first half of the year, and Japan's currency challenge.
A push towards harmonising data and reporting standards in ESG finance is gaining momentum and is a much-needed move in the development of the market.
García and Gutman given new roles at Goldman — Mizuho hires in convertible bonds — Smida and Coudray handed coverage leadership at Natixis
Market participants are still speculating about exactly how the EU's Taxonomy of Sustainable Economic Activities will shape sustainable finance.
Sir Ronald Cohen, the venture capitalist who chairs the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment, on Tuesday called on governments to mandate companies to publish impact-weighted accounts.
Anita McBain, head of responsible investment and environmental and social governance at M&G Investments, is joining Citi as head of ESG research for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Home Reit, a new real estate investment trust focused on homeless accommodation, is preparing to raise £250m via an IPO on the London Stock Exchange.
Amy West has been named global head of a new sustainable finance and corporate transitions group at TD Securities, which becomes the latest bank to launch a new unit working in this area.
The European Parliament voted in favour of an expansion of the EU’s own resources on Wednesday.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been a health and economic disaster — but it also creates opportunities, say responsible investing experts.
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Voluntary efforts could bring about a global market in trading carbon offsets, even before there is a statutory basis for this, according to the leader of a new taskforce launched by Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of England.
Ignitis Grupe, the state-owned Lithuanian energy and utility company, has begun marketing its IPO and is hoping that interest from investors concerned with environmental, social and governance [ESG] factors will lead to a higher valuation.
Neusoft Education Technology, a private higher education provider, got the go-ahead for its IPO this week from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Philippine real estate company Filinvest Development Corp raised $200m from a five year bond on Thursday.
This week in Keeping Tabs: what scientists still don't know about coronavirus as we grapple with a second wave, ESG index funds outperformed in the first half of the year, and Japan's currency challenge.
The green bond market was conceived on a simple plan.
Bank of China has opened a new area of sustainable investing with Asia’s first blue bond.
This week in Keeping Tabs: the state of EU capital markets and whether good government matters, a profile of Mairead McGuinness, and Adam Tooze on central banks.
European policymakers may decide to ramp up efforts to retain control of capital markets, amid rising Brexit tensions, the US-China dispute and the need to recover economic growth.
The European Union is about to kick-start its huge borrowing programme for the Support to Mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) fund later this month.
The release of thousands of leaked documents over the weekend that implicated major banks in money laundering and sanctions violations has sent a shudder through capital markets.
This week in Keeping Tabs: what scientists still don't know about coronavirus as we grapple with a second wave, ESG index funds outperformed in the first half of the year, and Japan's currency challenge.
The adverse market refinance fee came under fire in a hearing this week, during which House policy makers characterised it as last-minute and poorly explained.
Despite the financing that two jumbo acquisitions revealed this week would require, loans bankers fear that with no end to the coronavirus pandemic in sight and entire industries reeling from the fallout of lockdown, their jobs will soon be on the line.
The release of thousands of leaked documents over the weekend that implicated major banks in money laundering and sanctions violations has sent a shudder through capital markets.
The adverse market refinance fee came under fire in a hearing this week, during which House policy makers characterised it as last-minute and poorly explained.
Bank and leasing firm Grenke has seen its share price plummet by more than half over the past two days after becoming the latest target of Viceroy Research, the activist short seller known for its campaigns against Wirecard and Steinhoff.
This week in Keeping Tabs: the state of EU capital markets and whether good government matters, a profile of Mairead McGuinness, and Adam Tooze on central banks.
The Covid-19 pandemic is forcing many governments to expand their borrowing programmes.
Despite the financing that two jumbo acquisitions revealed this week would require, loans bankers fear that with no end to the coronavirus pandemic in sight and entire industries reeling from the fallout of lockdown, their jobs will soon be on the line.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, one of the world's largest owners of shopping malls, launched a €9bn-plus turnaround plan on Thursday, which includes a €3.5bn rights issue.
Argentine corporate bonds sold off sharply on Wednesday after the central bank sought to dictate how the issuers could refinance their dollar debt as part of an escalation of currency controls.
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