Green

DZ Bank sold its first green bond on 25 September, a EUR250m five year deal with proceeds earmarked for German onshore windfarms that marked a rare appearance in the public markets for the German issuer in senior format, and which is the first green bond from a bank to have an S&P Green Evaluation.

Support is being sought from the European Commission for a “market activation framework” to take the Energy Efficient Mortgages Initiative into its next stage, an EMF-ECBC official told an ECBC plenary, which also heard positive noises, with caveats, on sustainable finance from the German Ministry of Finance and BaFin.

Deutsche Hypo sold a EUR500m green Pfandbrief issue last Monday, its second such benchmark, and officials at the issuer described the deal’s “dynamic” book as being a positive statement of green investor’s trust.

Rabobank has launched a EUR5bn “ESG Leader” commercial paper and certificates of deposit programme that it can only issue off as long as it is ranked in the top 5% of companies by Sustainalytics, and an official at the Dutch issuer told Sustainabonds that the first sale already offered it a cost saving.

NordLB Luxembourg Covered Bond Bank is preparing to issue what it expects to be the first covered bond backed by renewable energy assets and launched under a dedicated law, with its debut likely in early 2019, according to officials at the issuer.

The green bond market could grow by as little as 13% this year, according to Moody’s, which has slashed its forecast after having previously anticipated a 60% rise in issuance. The rating agency nevertheless noted increases in sustainable and social bond issuance, and highlighted covered bonds’ potential.

Investors active in green bonds stressed the importance of accountability and impact reporting offered by bonds aligned with the Green and Social Bond Principles, but showed flexibility in their investment strategies, in responses to a survey that evinced a mainstreaming of the product.

PKO Bank Hipoteczny is in the early stages of preparing a green covered bond framework from which it could issue the first green covered bonds from the CEE region, with potential for issuance in euros or Polish zlotys, to finance energy efficient residential properties.