The only Fitch-rated covered bonds for which any ESG factor is positively credit-relevant are those of Aegon Bank and Panama’s Banco La Hipotecaria, according to the rating agency, which is disclosing “ESG relevancy scores” for credit ratings in a bid to increase transparency but found little impact across the asset class.
ING Bank Hipoteczny hopes to launch a debut euro benchmark covered bond in green format in the first half of 2020, after having inaugurated its covered bond programme with an upsized PLN400m green bond, which its CEO said will help move Poland’s housing sector forward in a green direction.
SR-Boligkreditt inaugurated a green bond framework with the first negative-yielding euro benchmark covered bond from the Nordics on Tuesday, while Sparebanken Sør Boligkreditt is set to follow with a green covered bond debut off the first Norwegian framework also targeting social goals.
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg inaugurated a social bond framework on 19 September, bringing its total sustainable bond issuance including green bonds to €3.7bn with a €500m senior non-preferred trade. The debut is the first social bond to be assessed against new ISS-oekom ESG KPIs for their contribution to related SDGs.
SpareBank 1 SMN inaugurated its green bond framework on 4 September with a EUR500m seven year senior preferred issue soon after it received an improved ESG rating from Sustainalytics, with its fisheries-related element welcomed by the Marine Stewardship Council.
Rabobank recently aligned its green bond framework with the latest draft of the proposed EU Green Bond Standard and Sustainabonds spoke to Maarten Biermans, head of sustainable capital markets at the Dutch bank, about the issuer’s support for the initiative, notably the “do no significant harm” principle.
The Association of German Pfandbrief Banks (vdp) has set minimum standards for issuance to be eligible for the Green Pfandbrief/Grüner Pfandbrief trademark, aligning it with initiatives such as the Green Bond Principles and the draft EU sustainable finance taxonomy and Green Bond Standard.
Sparebanken Vest has established the first Norwegian green bond framework that allows for both senior unsecured issuance by the bank and covered bond issuance by its dedicated subsidiary, Sparebanken Vest Boligkreditt, with green buildings and hydropower the eligible categories for loans.
Münchener Hypothekenbank can now issue green commercial paper, after having added the option to its EUR5bn programme, with the short term debt earmarked to refinance green assets that have not yet been included in its cover pool or the parts of loans that are cover pool-ineligible.
Standard Chartered attracted over EUR3.4bn of orders for an inaugural sustainability bond on 25 June, building on a broader green and sustainable product framework to offer investors an uncommon opportunity to support the UN SDGs in the range of emerging markets the bank operates in.
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