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Research Announcement:

Moody's - Banks’ issuance of green, social and sustainability bonds on fast track after record year

13 March 2020


London, March 13, 2020 --

  • Banks issued a record $121.8 billion of green, social and sustainability bonds in 2019 taking the cumulative total since 2015 to $335.5 billion.
  • More banks will adopt green and sustainability-linked funding strategies as investors increasingly emphasise environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations

Banks' issuance of green, social and sustainability (GSS) bonds rose 41% to a record $121.8 billion in 2019 and is set for further rapid growth in response to strong investor demand and regulatory developments, Moody's Investors Service said in a report published today.

"This jump reflects investors' increased use of environmental, social and governance criteria to select portfolio assets, as well as banks' growing role in financing the transition to a low-carbon economy," said Carola Schuler, Managing Director for Banking at Moody's. "Asia Pacific and European banks are the biggest issuers, with European lenders motivated in part by the European Union's ambitious sustainability policy agenda."

Moody's expects more banks to adopt green and sustainability-linked funding strategies as investors increasingly emphasise ESG considerations. Moody's also expects increased issuance of new products such as "sustainability-linked" loans and bonds. These can be used to finance general corporate purposes, unlike conventional green bonds, which can only fund environmental projects. However, they pay a variable coupon depending on the issuer's overall sustainability performance.

Green bonds accounted for 77% of banks' total GSS issuance in 2019, with social and sustainability instruments making up the remainder. During 2015-2019, development banks such as the World Bank issued almost 37% of all such instruments. Commercial banks, led by Credit Agricole, Bank of China, Berlin Hyp and Mitsubishi UFG, accounted for the rest.

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS ONLY: For more information, please call one of our global press information hotlines: New York +1-212-553-0376, London +44-20-7772-5456, Tokyo +813-5408-4110, Hong Kong +852-3758-1350, Sydney +61-2-9270-8141, Mexico City 001-888-779-5833, São Paulo 0800-891-2518, or Buenos Aires 0800-666-3506. You can also email us at [email protected] or visit our web site at www.moodys.com.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history.

Malika Takhtayeva
Associate Analyst
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Investors Service Ltd.
JOURNALISTS : 44 20 7772 5456
Client Service : 44 20 7772 5454

Carola Schuler
MD-Banking
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Deutschland GmbH
JOURNALISTS : 44 20 7772 5456
Client Service : 44 20 7772 5454

Releasing Office :
Moody's Investors Service Ltd.
One Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London, E14 5FA
United Kingdom
JOURNALISTS : 44 20 7772 5456
Client Service : 44 20 7772 5454

© 2020 Moody’s Corporation, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., Moody’s Analytics, Inc. and/or their licensors and affiliates (collectively, “MOODY’S”). All rights reserved.

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