Responsible Investing

  • Imperial Tobacco signs new RCF, no plans for drawdown

    Imperial Tobacco signs new RCF, no plans for drawdown

    The UK's Imperial Brands, formerly Imperial Tobacco, has signed a new €3.5bn three year multi-currency revolving credit facility, slightly increasing its main bank line, despite not having plans to draw down.

    31 Mar 2020
  • Bankers get the orders to steer clear of aircraft ABS

    Bankers get the orders to steer clear of aircraft ABS

    Many investment banks are circulating orders for bankers not fund any committed debt transactions in the aircraft sector, including ABS deals, a decision spurred by market volatility from Covid-19. On top of restrictions on in-person meetings, macro factors such as city lockdowns and travel bans are putting a damper on the new issue pipeline.

    19 Mar 2020
  • Suek braves volatility to re-enter market

    Suek braves volatility to re-enter market

    Siberian Coal Energy Co (Suek) is seeking financing from lenders, according to two market sources. The borrower is braving lenders' wariness about coal companies, which last year weighed on demand for a Suek loan, and the global volatility caused by the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

    19 Mar 2020
  • CMBS has big exposure to airline, oil and gas industries

    CMBS has big exposure to airline, oil and gas industries

    The US CMBS market, with its heavy dependence on corporate tenants to keep the cash flows to bond holders coming, is being buffeted by the turmoil stemming from the crisis in recent weeks, with the market exposed across dozens of deals to two particularly ailing sectors — airlines and oil and gas firms.

    17 Mar 2020
  • Sasol reveals plan to raise $2bn of capital

    Sasol reveals plan to raise $2bn of capital

    Sasol, the South African chemicals company, has unveiled a $6bn package of measures designed to shore up its business, which has been damaged by the spread of the Covid-19 virus and the collapse in oil prices.

    17 Mar 2020
  • BAT breaks new ground in first multicurrency risk-free rate loan

    BAT breaks new ground in first multicurrency risk-free rate loan

    British American Tobacco has signed the first multicurrency revolving credit facility that uses a variety of risk-free rates as benchmarks, potentially clearing a hurdle that loan market participants have long said was hindering the transition from Libor.

    12 Mar 2020
  • Aston Martin rights issue under threat after share price crash

    Aston Martin rights issue under threat after share price crash

    Aston Martin, the troubled UK car maker, was set to launch a rights issue process next week, but severe equity market volatility means that the company’s shares are now trading below the subscription price in the capital raise. Sources are now questioning whether a deal is viable.

    12 Mar 2020
  • EU Taxonomy a mix of soft and strong, clear and vague

    EU Taxonomy a mix of soft and strong, clear and vague

    The European Union’s Taxonomy of Sustainable Economic Activities, the latest draft of which was released on Monday, has been hailed by promoters as the opening of a new chapter in responsible investing. But the document is complex and much will depend on how market participants use it.

    10 Mar 2020
  • EU Taxonomy and Green Bond Standard: sneak peek

    EU Taxonomy and Green Bond Standard: sneak peek

    The European Commission's Technical Expert Group will be publishing its much-awaited Taxonomy and Green Bond Standard on Monday. GlobalCapital has received leaked copies from a source in Brussels. The GBS endorses a use of proceeds approach and limits the inclusion of operating expenditure. The Taxonomy contains reassurance for companies whose activities are not yet covered by it and sets out human rights standards.

    06 Mar 2020
  • Taxonomy coming on Monday

    Taxonomy coming on Monday

    Sustainable finance specialists are waiting eagerly to see the precise details of the European Union's Taxonomy of Sustainable Economic Activities, the next draft of which will be revealed on Monday.

    06 Mar 2020
  • Insurance-linked securities: how to make them ESG friendly

    Insurance-linked securities: how to make them ESG friendly

    The World Bank and Assicurazioni Generali are each giving the insurance-linked securities (ILS) they issue a sustainability label, as the market attempts to burnish its credentials for investors concerned with environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. Both issuers are imitating conventional green bond programmes by focusing on direct use of proceeds, but there are also debates around issues such as freed-up insurance capital and what governments do with funds released from catastrophe bonds.

    04 Mar 2020
  • Tech boutique offers tool to spot greenwash

    Tech boutique offers tool to spot greenwash

    Investors who have been longing for the EU Taxonomy of Sustainable Economic Activities to tell them what is green are now realising that its arrival could make life tricky. From the end of next year, they will have to start reporting how sustainable all their portfolios are. It could prove an enormous headache. But a tiny company has developed a tool it claims can cut out a lot of the worries investors face in working out how to comply.

    26 Feb 2020
  • Investors hope to strike oil in budding oil and gas ABS market

    Investors hope to strike oil in budding oil and gas ABS market

    Oil and gas securitizations may be a win-win solution for the difficulties faced both by energy producers in search of a diversified source of funds and by investors hungry for long term, attractive returns, said speakers at SFVegas on Sunday.

    24 Feb 2020
  • ESG proponents on the hunt for a common framework

    ESG proponents on the hunt for a common framework

    A lack of data and a broad range of frameworks for identifying environmental, social, and governance (ESG) assets are significant hurdles standing in the way of ESG becoming a more robust asset class unto itself, said speakers at SFVegas 2020 on Sunday, urging advocates to harmonize their definitions and strategies for investing.

    24 Feb 2020
  • Whole biz ABS riskier than oil and gas deals, Fitch says

    Whole biz ABS riskier than oil and gas deals, Fitch says

    Investors hungrily eyeing two esoteric ABS subsectors — one booming, the other nascent — may want to look take a second look, as Fitch Ratings this week warns that whole business securitizations are a riskier bet than the budding oil and gas ABS sector.

    20 Feb 2020
  • Sustainability a far cry from the fusty world of US PPs

    Sustainability a far cry from the fusty world of US PPs

    Several chances to demonstrate commitment to corporate sustainability have occurred in the US private placement market recently, and the market has fallen short in almost every case. Most of the PP market is as unfamiliar with using the term 'ESG' as it is to yelling 'YOLO'.

    18 Feb 2020
  • BW Energy gets shrunken IPO done in teeth of oil fears

    BW Energy gets shrunken IPO done in teeth of oil fears

    BW Energy, the oil exploration and production company, has priced its Oslo IPO after lowering its valuation target and shrinking the deal, having encountered resistance from investors as the coronavirus outbreak in China knocked 20% off the oil price.

    18 Feb 2020

  • Oil and gas's tobacco moment

    Polite society does not tolerate smokers the way it used to. What was once a ubiquitous habit is now banished to outdoors in many countries. Tobacco investment is a rarer beast too these days, reflecting how deeply ethical preferences can affect capital markets. Now oil and gas securities could be about to face a similar shift.

    13 Feb 2020
  • Oil equity deal plans hit by virus fears, but are investors turning green?

    Oil equity deal plans hit by virus fears, but are investors turning green?

    Equity investors are losing their appetite for oil and gas stocks, just at a time when three of the biggest IPOs being planned in EMEA are from that sector. The coronavirus outbreak is sapping Chinese demand, leading to a weak oil price. But some bankers believe investors are also making a more fundamental shift away from fossil fuels, which could even lead to a permanent tipping point. Sam Kerr and Jon Hay report.

    13 Feb 2020

  • Lyxor launches second suite of ESG high yield ETFs

    Lyxor has launched a suite of environmental, social and governance high yield exchange-traded funds, following BlackRock’s iShares into the burgeoning market for investment products screened for sustainability. The French firm switched its investment grade ETF to follow a sustainable index last year, but opted to create a new product line for high yield.

    13 Feb 2020

  • High yield in a hiatus — IG minds turn to ESG

    High yield is mostly in a hiatus, with issuers waiting for full year numbers before pushing back into the market. Only UK broadband company TalkTalk is issuing this week, offering a rare slug of sterling supply to a market that has been euro-dominated for most of the year. For the corners of the loan market without such problems, though, there is still a bid, even for credits with stories.

    12 Feb 2020
  • Sustainability: more stick, less carrot

    Sustainability: more stick, less carrot

    Sustainable finance players are enthusiastic about regulation, which they expect to bring clarity and order to the market. It may — though when the new EU rules are implemented they are likely to irk participants more than they expect. But what would be really effective are direct actions that bypass finance.

    11 Feb 2020
  • Esma opens way to deeper regulation of ESG

    Esma opens way to deeper regulation of ESG

    The European securities regulator will start to probe sustainable finance, looking for risks including greenwashing and climate risks, and may use stress tests in some market segments. Green finance experts welcomed the new Strategy on Sustainable Finance put out by the European Securities and Markets Authority on Thursday as a step towards fully integrating environmental, social and governance issues into financial regulation.

    06 Feb 2020
  • LSTA seeks to shed light on ESG in lev loans

    LSTA seeks to shed light on ESG in lev loans

    The Loan Syndication and Trading Association this week released a questionnaire for leveraged loan borrowers on their environmental, social and governance policies, seeking to give loan investors more insight into the importance of ESG practices among corporate borrowers.

    04 Feb 2020
  • Give us regulation, say MENA green leaders

    Give us regulation, say MENA green leaders

    Market participants at the Euromoney Sustainability MENA Conference in Dubai this week highlighted the importance of regulation as a driving force that could propel progress in sustainable finance.

    04 Feb 2020
  • People moves in brief

    People moves in brief

    Vereker goes to JP Morgan — SG picks new CEEMEA DCM head — Goldman names new cross markets head

    30 Jan 2020
  • Moody’s creates global ESG position

    Moody’s creates global ESG position

    Moody’s Investors Services has beefed up its coverage of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, naming a veteran analyst as its first global head of ESG.

    30 Jan 2020
  • Lombard Odier goes to Church for ESG

    Lombard Odier goes to Church for ESG

    Kristina Church has moved from Barclays to Lombard Odier Investment Managers as a senior investment strategist for sustainable investment, as the firm seeks to grow its offering in this area.

    29 Jan 2020
  • Sovereign debt at greater risk of being ‘stranded’

    Sovereign debt at greater risk of being ‘stranded’

    The risk that huge amounts of oil and gas assets will be stranded by moves to tackle the climate emergency may be more pertinent for sovereign credit than for private sector corporate debt, according to new research.

    23 Jan 2020
  • The power of making a fuss

    The power of making a fuss

    As head of BlackRock, the largest asset manager, Larry Fink’s pivot to responsible investing in recent years has been influential.

    16 Jan 2020
  • Investors fight SEC curbs on ESG motions

    Investors fight SEC curbs on ESG motions

    The latest battle in the campaign to weaken corporate governance standards in the US is being fought over rule changes that would make it harder for investors to propose motions at shareholder meetings. The ‘proxy advisers’ so central to US governance also face new restrictions.

    16 Jan 2020
  • Oil and gas ABS market grows despite push for ESG

    Oil and gas ABS market grows despite push for ESG

    Securitizations tied to oil and gas-related cash flows have emerged in recent months, despite growing support from the buy side for socially responsible investments (SRI). Though they run contrary to environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, issuance of oil and gas royalty ABS may persist as long as the deals offer attractive yields, or until ESG investments pay a premium to brown ABS. Jennifer Kang reports.

    16 Jan 2020
  • World Bank’s cat bonds a win for all, says analyst

    World Bank’s cat bonds a win for all, says analyst

    Catastrophe bonds issued by the World Bank have been positive for both investors and the countries receiving protection from the securities, according to one market veteran. The organisation’s activity in insurance-linked securities has been highly innovative but has also received criticism from some quarters.

    09 Jan 2020
  • Investors talk big on corporate responsibility, but act feebly

    Investors talk big on corporate responsibility, but act feebly

    The noise about how capitalism is changing to a system in which social purpose is restored to the centre of companies' and investors' aims is now deafening. But look below the surface and the actual governance record of many companies and investors is dreadful. Most shareholders are too supine even to defend their own rights.

    07 Jan 2020
  • MSCI launches ESG and factor indices

    MSCI launches ESG and factor indices

    MSCI has launched a range of new indices aimed at corporate bond investors that want to increase their environmental, social and corporate governance and factor exposure.

    07 Jan 2020
  • TEG chief: Taxonomy is for disclosure, not prescription

    TEG chief: Taxonomy is for disclosure, not prescription

    Financial specialists will have two years to work out how to implement the European Union’s Taxonomy of Sustainable Economic Activities, which now looks certain to become law in the coming months. But investors, companies and banks are likely to start using the huge document much sooner than that, in a wide variety of ways.

    18 Dec 2019