Month: May 2018

The European Commission unveiled its first legislative proposals aimed at gearing the EU financial system to tackle climate change yesterday (Thursday), including steps to establish a “groundbreaking” green taxonomy that could form the basis for an EU green bond label.

Banks assessing climate risks and opportunities in line with TCFD recommendations must look long term, make use of comprehensive scenario analyses, and adapt data collection, according to findings of a UN-convened pilot, which revealed positive impacts such as improved customer engagement.

Landshypotek Bank issued the first green covered bond from Sweden on Wednesday, a SEK5.25bn (EUR510m) five year issue that is the largest Swedish krona green bond to date and which achieved pricing at a sizeable “greenium”, exceeding the issuer’s expectations.

Europe’s “active and engaged” market is at the forefront of global green bond developments, with its financial institutions playing a crucial role in green financial infrastructure, according to a Climate Bonds Initiative analysis.

Ahead of 150th birthday celebrations on 8 May marked by a gift of saplings to its home city, Berlin Hyp tightened its pioneering green bond framework and revealed an increasing positive environmental impact from the programme.

BBVA issued the largest green bond from a Eurozone bank today (Thursday), a EUR1bn seven year senior non-preferred deal that inaugurated a new SDG-aligned framework and attracted more than EUR2.5bn of demand despite coming relatively tight in a recovering market.