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IFR ESG Capital Markets Roundtable 2020

IFR’s ESG webinar took place on June 23, days after the European Parliament had passed the EU Taxonomy Regulation, and soon after the Green and Social Bond Principles Annual General Meeting had unveiled Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles for ESG targets-based general purpose bonds. (Not to be confused with use-of-proceeds sustainability bonds, ICMA was careful to point out). The IFR session was a lively discussion. Panellists hailed from four public-finance borrowers (Council of Europe Development Bank, European Investment Bank, NRW.Bank and...Read more

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IFR ESG Capital Markets Roundtable 2020: Participants

Dominika Rosolowska Sustainability funding officer, European Investment Bank Dominika Rosolowska is part of EIB’s sustainability funding team responsible for issuance of climate and sustainability awareness bonds across all currencies. She has been with the EIB since 2010 and was previously a funding officer for Americas and Asia-Pacific. She contributes to the European Commission’s Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. Frank Richter Head of investor relations, NRW.Bank Frank Richter is head of investor relations at NRW.Bank where he...

IFR ESG Capital Markets Roundtable 2020: Part 1

KEITH MULLIN, KM CAPITAL MARKETS (MODERATOR): THE ESG THEME IS BROAD AND WIDE AND HAS A HOST OF SUB-THEMES. IN RECENT WEEKS, A LOT HAS HAPPENED, INCLUDING THE GREEN AND SOCIAL BOND PRINCIPLES AGM AND THE PASSING OF THE EU’S TAXONOMY REGULATION BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT. ACTIVITY IN THE BOND MARKET HAS BEEN INTERESTING, NOT LEAST BECAUSE OF THE EMERGENCE OF COVID-19 MITIGATION BONDS FROM A WIDE SPECTRUM OF BORROWERS. BEFORE WE GET INTO SOME OF THE BROADER ESG THEMES, COULD YOU GIVE US A SUMMARY UPDATE OF WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING IN THE BOND MARKET...

IFR ESG Capital Markets Roundtable 2020: Part 2

KEITH MULLIN, KM CAPITAL MARKETS: DO YOU THINK THE TAXONOMY WILL HELP ELIMINATE SOCIAL-WASHING, GREEN-WASHING, OR SUSTAINABILITY-WASHING, PARTICULARLY WITH REGARD TO MARKETING-DRIVEN LABELLED ISSUANCE WHERE THE BENEFITS AREN’T VERY CLEAR? AS WE MOVE AWAY FROM A VOLUNTARY SET OF GUIDELINES, CERTAINLY IN EUROPE, TO A MORE REGULATED ENVIRONMENT, DOES THIS PUT THE ONUS ON ISSUERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ACTUALLY DO WHAT THEY SAY? Sandrine Enguehard, Societe Generale: I don’t think we have really seen a lot of green-washing or social-washing within...

IFR ESG Capital Markets Roundtable 2020: Part 3

KEITH MULLIN, KM CAPITAL MARKETS: DOMINIKA, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF ESG FUNDING AT THE EIB? Dominika Rosolowska, European Investment Bank: We have two products on the sustainability funding side. One is our climate awareness bonds; the other is our sustainability awareness bonds. The CABs are our flagship product that we started issuing in 2007. The SABs are a relatively new addition; we launched the first in 2018 on the back of recognition that sustainability spans a broad range of activities that go well beyond climate into...