Green

An inaugural green bond from Danske Bank on Tuesday allowed it to mitigate concerns over its role in a money-laundering scandal to price the EUR500m no-grow five year non-preferred senior deal at a level well inside where a conventional bond from the Danish issuer would likely have been priced, on the back of EUR3.25bn of demand at re-offer.

Asset growth, EU sustainable finance initiatives and pricing benefits could all help green bond supply rise to meet the growing demands of investors, according to speakers at an LBBW conference on 1 March, where a broadening of issuance, particularly into social bonds, was called for.

Finland’s OP Financial Group achieved a strong outcome for its debut green bond on Tuesday, a EUR500m five year senior preferred deal that attracted over EUR2.1bn of demand and paid no new issue premium, with its green nature seen boosting an offering that already had several factors working in its favour.

SpareBank 1 SMN has established a green bond framework and could sell the first senior unsecured green bond benchmark in euros from a Norwegian bank, while offering investors a rare opportunity to gain exposure to the “life below water” Sustainable Development Goal.

Sunndal Sparebank sold the first green bond from a Norwegian savings bank on 1 February, a NOK75m (EUR7.65m) three year senior unsecured deal with proceeds allocated to hydro power plants and loans for electric and hydrogen powered vehicles, rated “dark green” by Cicero.

SBAB’s Swedish Covered Bond Corporation issued the largest Swedish krona green bond on Wednesday, a SEK6bn (EUR585m) covered bond backed by energy-efficient mortgages – the first in Sweden – that attracted over SEK14bn of orders and was priced inside SCBC’s secondary curve.

SCBC could launch the first Swedish covered bond backed by residential mortgages for energy efficient properties, after parent SBAB took a pro-active approach to offering clients a new green mortgage and added the product to its use of proceeds.

Moody’s has warned that the development of energy efficient mortgages, and increasing momentum in the clean energy transition that this reflects, will hit the value of buildings that do not meet new minimum requirements, as well as securitisations and cover pools exposed to such collateral.