Social Bonds

The Association of German Pfandbrief Banks (vdp) has established minimum standards for Social Pfandbriefe, which build on existing green and social standards, and proponents hope they will encourage standardisation and provide impetus to the sector.

Hypo Tirol launched the first Austrian euro benchmark covered bond in social format last week, a €500m 10 year deal that the bank’s head of treasury deemed its “best ever”, as it achieved its biggest book and tightest spread while supporting affordable housing in the region. Green bonds are next on its agenda.

Caffil is posting levels for social bonds in private placement format, in what is understood to be a first for a covered bond issuer, with its funding team citing investor interest in such product, which it hopes will add “dynamism” to its MTN issuance at the long end of the curve.

Green and social bond markets have withstood and even grown on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic. Rooted in their businesses and CSR strategies, an increasingly diverse range of corporates are approaching the market — at times branching out into new instruments. In this Sustainabonds roundtable sponsored by ABN AMRO, corporate finance and responsible investment professionals share their insights and opinions around the latest developments.

In response to the pandemic, Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) has doubled its Social Inclusion Bond outstandings and added the health segment to its framework, while fast-tracking Covid-19-related support. Arturo Seco Presencio, deputy CFO, head of funding, treasury and ALM, CEB, discussed its rapid reaction and social bond trends with Sustainabonds’ Neil Day.

The European Stability Mechanism is ready to issue social bonds for the first time should any euro area member state apply for Pandemic Crisis Support under a €540bn EU safety net. ESM head of funding and investor relations Siegfried Ruhl spoke to Sustainabonds’ Neil Day about how the instrument befits its latest role and builds on its broader ESG efforts.

Strong demand for a Covid-19-focused social bond from Crédit Mutuel Arkéa on Thursday allowed the French issuer to price its biggest senior non-preferred (SNP) transaction, a €750m nine year non-call eight deal whose proceeds are earmarked for supporting healthcare and SME development.

Caffil took advantage of an existing social bond framework to be the first-mover in Covid-19-related covered bonds on Tuesday, tapping into improving conditions to raise €1bn for lending to public hospitals ahead of an anticipated broader rise in French public spending and SFIL group funding.