Sustainable covered bond pioneer MünchenerHyp is working on a distinct green bond framework to accompany its prior social framework, in a move driven by investor preferences. Proponents have meanwhile denied a claim green bonds are a “lose-lose”, pointing to new issuer-investor benefits.
Green covered bond issuance looks set for significant growth thanks to regulatory measures, increasing investor interest and banks’ efforts to improve the identification of green assets and determination to finance such assets, according to S&P, with initiatives such as EeMAP deemed supportive.
Handelsbanken and Raiffeisen Bank International sold inaugural EUR500m green senior bonds this week that benefitted from price and execution certainty, respectively, thanks to their greenness boosting demand amid choppy conditions, according to bankers at and away from the leads.
KBC joined the green bond market with a more than thrice-subscribed EUR500m debut on Wednesday, to give green financing power to its clients, according to a KBC official. The senior HoldCo deal was also priced with a substantially smaller premium than recent conventional supply despite markets having been choppy.
Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is preparing to issue an inaugural green senior unsecured benchmark, embarking on a European roadshow today (Friday), in the latest step of a sustainability strategy that, it says, is based on the principles of group’s 19th century namesake.
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg reached an unusually broad, international investor base with its inaugural green Pfandbrief on Monday, a EUR500m five year benchmark that received an “overwhelming” response, generating pricing power, according to the German issuer, which is also working on a social programme.
Thirty-seven banks with a 45% share of European mortgage lending are participating in the pilot scheme of the Energy Efficient Mortgages Initiative, which was launched yesterday (Thursday), under which they will test implementation of a new framework with a view to creating a final product.
LBBW is set to issue its first green Pfandbrief in the coming days in a move partly aimed at attracting sustainable investors into covered bonds with a tapering and end to the ECB’s asset purchases on the horizon following announcements yesterday (Thursday) afternoon from the central bank.
Norway’s DNB Boligkreditt issued the biggest green bond from a European bank yesterday (Tuesday), a EUR1.5bn green covered bond debut that provided the clearest evidence yet of a possible “greenium” in the asset class. Sweden’s Handelsbanken today unveiled a new “dark green” framework.
The parliament of Luxembourg unanimously approved the world’s first green covered bond law yesterday (Tuesday), “a first point of reference” for the developing market.
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