Green and Social Bonds and Loans

  • NIB raises €1bn under new Covid-19 Response Bond Framework

    NIB raises €1bn under new Covid-19 Response Bond Framework

    The Nordic Investment Bank on Monday became the latest public sector borrower to use the capital markets to provide emergency financing in response to the coronavirus crisis. But rather than selling a conventional or socially responsible bond, the supranational has developed a new framework specially designed to tackle the pandemic.

    30 Mar 2020
  • CPPIB leads Canadians to tricky euro market

    CPPIB leads Canadians to tricky euro market

    CPPIB Capital hit the euro market on Monday, becoming the first SSA borrower not eligible for QE to access the market since the coronavirus outbreak shuttered the market. A fellow Canadian is set to follow suit.

    30 Mar 2020
  • IADB prints $2bn with Covid-19 crisis bond

    IADB prints $2bn with Covid-19 crisis bond

    The Inter-American Development Bank had the primary dollar public sector bond market to itself on Friday as it raised funding as part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

    27 Mar 2020
  • IADB to follow AfDB with Covid-19 response bond

    IADB to follow AfDB with Covid-19 response bond

    The Inter-American Development Bank on Thursday started marketing a five year sustainable development bond in Global format as it looks to become third SSA borrower to jump into the dollar market this week. But SSA issuers that fund in euros will unlikely be able to mirror join the party.

    26 Mar 2020
  • Austria and AfDB to bring bonds to fight Covid-19

    Austria and AfDB to bring bonds to fight Covid-19

    The Republic of Austria and the African Development Bank announced new bond transactions on Wednesday which will be used to provide emergency financing in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

    25 Mar 2020
  • Bavaria raises €3bn with crisis bond amid lockdown

    Bavaria raises €3bn with crisis bond amid lockdown

    The Free State of Bavaria enjoyed a strong reception from investors as it returned to the capital markets on Monday for the first time since 2014 to fund a Covid-19 fiscal package by the Bavarian government.

    23 Mar 2020
  • Link Reit takes A$212m from sustainable loan

    Link Reit takes A$212m from sustainable loan

    Asia’s sustainability-linked loan market has expanded further with a real estate investment trust raising funds linked to the global real estate sustainability benchmark (GRESB), a first for the region.

    23 Mar 2020
  • Europe hits back: Engie and Unilever issue big bonds to investors at home

    Europe hits back: Engie and Unilever issue big bonds to investors at home

    Europe’s corporate bond new issue market burst back into life on Friday after a nine day coma with two emphatic, big, generously priced deals from impeccable issuers — exactly the pattern of issuance, although on a smaller scale, that the US market has produced on three days this week. Engie and Unilever raised €4.5bn between them, most of it from investors working at home amid coronavirus quarantines.

    20 Mar 2020
  • Lenders honour pre-virus terms but pricing rockets

    Lenders honour pre-virus terms but pricing rockets

    Germany's Covestro and the UK's 3i have both signed new revolving credit facilities with terms that were agreed before the Covid-19 pandemic sent markets plunging, but lenders said that new deals will have far higher margins.

    18 Mar 2020
  • EU green standard could stop transition bonds

    EU green standard could stop transition bonds

    Since the invention of green bonds 13 years ago, market participants have circled round the problem of what is green. There are many answers, such as the Climate Bonds Initiative's standards, but none have any official authority. That is about to change. The EU's Green Bond Standard is likely to become law before the year is out, and it could alter the market in several ways.

    13 Mar 2020
  • Garanti launches ESG-linked loan amid global turmoil

    Garanti launches ESG-linked loan amid global turmoil

    Garanti BBVA has launched the first environmental, social and governance loan from Turkey's banking sector, as the syndicated loan primary market continues to be one of the few hardy spots in a financial system hit by the coronavirus and oil price panic.

    12 Mar 2020
  • IFC brushes off vol with impressive social bond

    IFC brushes off vol with impressive social bond

    International Finance Corporation defied volatility to achieve an impressive result in the dollar public sector bond market on Wednesday as it managed to bring in the spread by 4bp to price through the European Investment Bank.

    11 Mar 2020
  • Wheatcroft and Reid change roles at Mizuho

    Wheatcroft and Reid change roles at Mizuho

    Mark Wheatcroft has been appointed Mizuho's head of sustainability for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, a newly created post. His previous role as head of primary debt markets has been taken over by Guy Reid.

    10 Mar 2020
  • Banks hail transition bonds’ arrival after false starts

    Banks hail transition bonds’ arrival after false starts

    Transition bonds, one of the hottest talking points of the past year in the green bond market, made a decisive step forward this week when Cadent Gas, the UK’s largest gas distributor, issued a €500m deal that attracted large orders from environmentally concerned investors, even though some green bond funds shunned it. Jon Hay reports.

    05 Mar 2020
  • Green saves day in Swissies as coronavirus halts flurry

    Green saves day in Swissies as coronavirus halts flurry

    Green deals from Hypo Vorarlberg and Russian Railways were sold in Swiss francs this week in what were immensely tricky conditions. The market was awash with deals in January and February, but many feel the spread of coronavirus will bring a halt to the momentum moving into March.

    05 Mar 2020

  • Cadent transition bond blows out, comes with no NIP

    Cadent Gas launched what by some counts is only the second transition bond on Wednesday and achieved a stellar reception in the market. The €500m no-grow bond was priced without a new issue concession and tightened sharply on the break, according to a banker on the deal.

    04 Mar 2020
  • Middle East sovereigns must follow Egypt’s green example

    Middle East sovereigns must follow Egypt’s green example

    Middle East sovereigns have been taking their time in getting round to doing green financing, despite many of the region’s companies and banks embracing the shift to sustainability-linked issuance. They have no excuse not to print, and every incentive to cement their commitment to sustainability.

    03 Mar 2020
  • Dürr returns with ESG-linked SSD

    Dürr returns with ESG-linked SSD

    Dürr is looking for its second sustainability-linked Schuldschein, after the listed mechanical and plant engineering firm launched its first issue in the format last May.

    03 Mar 2020
  • Standard Bank issues landmark green bond transaction

    Standard Bank issues landmark green bond transaction

    South Africa’s Standard Bank has issued a $200m green bond, which was bought by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in its entirety. The deal is the largest green bond ever issued by an African borrower.

    03 Mar 2020
  • China’s social bonds coloured by politics

    China’s social bonds coloured by politics

    Bank of China made headlines last week for selling the first offshore Covid-19 linked bond. But the trade's status as a social bond — the first to come offshore from China — got less attention. The transaction shows the potential for social bonds from the country, while raising questions about why it has taken so long to see such a deal.

    03 Mar 2020
  • ESB switches revolver to sustainability-linked

    ESB switches revolver to sustainability-linked

    Ireland's Electricity Supply Board has become the first utility in the country to sign a sustainability-linked loan. Bankers say there is still a lot of untapped potential in Europe's high grade sustainable lending market.

    02 Mar 2020
  • Egypt turns green but few MENA sovs to follow

    Egypt turns green but few MENA sovs to follow

    The Arab Republic of Egypt is set to become the first Middle East or North African sovereign to sell a green bond. But there are no “obvious suspects” for a follow-on deal, according to those in the market. While green bond issuance is taking root among the region's other borrower classes, the format has yet to grasp the attention of governments for whom, some say, the challenge of being greener is proving too great, writes Mariam Meskin.

    27 Feb 2020
  • Siemens Gamesa turns bilateral factoring line green

    Siemens Gamesa turns bilateral factoring line green

    Siemens Gamesa, the Spanish wind turbine maker and servicer, has signed the first sustainability-linked factoring agreement in the country, bringing the hottest trend in lending to the usually staid world of niche trade finance.

    26 Feb 2020
  • Egypt to issue green bond as MENA's ESG wave builds

    Egypt to issue green bond as MENA's ESG wave builds

    The Arab Republic of Egypt has hired a group of international banks to arrange its debut green bond. Though the deal will be the first sovereign issue of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region, it adds to a string of green issuance from corporates and banks, which are developing a taste for ESG-linked debt.

    24 Feb 2020
  • Suzano tempted by Enel-like structure, Mexico markets SDG bond

    Suzano tempted by Enel-like structure, Mexico markets SDG bond

    Brazilian pulp and paper company Suzano is working on structuring a bond that would reflect its commitment to sustainability. But its chief financial officer told GlobalCapital that the green bond market was unable to maximise the impact capital markets could have on sustainability.

    20 Feb 2020
  • Madrid ratchets in spread

    Madrid ratchets in spread

    Two SSA borrowers hit screens on Wednesday with green euro benchmarks, following a successful outing by Madrid, which saw the bond’s sustainability feature driving the spread to the tightest achieved at reoffer by a Spanish region.

    20 Feb 2020
  • UK's Cadent Gas to bring rare transition bond

    UK's Cadent Gas to bring rare transition bond

    Cadent Gas, the UK gas distribution network spun off by National Grid in 2017, will roadshow from Tuesday next week for a €500m transition bond. The deal is likely to delight green bond specialists who have championed the idea of transition bonds as a way to finance companies that are not green, but are moving towards lower carbon business models.

    20 Feb 2020
  • Mexico to market SDG-linked bond

    Mexico to market SDG-linked bond

    The Mexican finance ministry will visit fixed income investors in Europe next week to present the framework under which it hopes to issue bonds designed to finance expenditure in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

    20 Feb 2020
  • STS is burden enough without shoehorning in ESG criteria

    STS is burden enough without shoehorning in ESG criteria

    With the environmental, social and governance revolution well under way, attention has turned to the securitization market after recent deals pushed the issue to the top of the agenda. There has been talk of retrofitting the ‘simple, transparent and standardised’ (STS) regulatory framework with a ‘green’ or ‘ESG’ category, but regulators should think twice before conflating both themes.

    18 Feb 2020
  • Local bonds for local people

    Local bonds for local people

    By opening up its debut social bond to retail investors, Munich highlighted an often overlooked strength of the socially responsible investment (SRI) market. Distributed correctly, these funding tools demonstrate the true impact of ethical investing.

    18 Feb 2020
  • Italy ‘analysing’ Enel’s sustainability-linked format

    Italy ‘analysing’ Enel’s sustainability-linked format

    Italy is considering the sustainability-linked bond format pioneered by Italian electricity and gas company Enel, but Davide Iacovoni, head of Italy’s debt management office, thinks the structure may not suit the sovereign’s priorities of ensuring liquidity and maximising reach.

    17 Feb 2020