Sustainability is increasingly becoming a priority, for investors and companies alike. With the rise in financing options available on the capital markets to fund environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-supportive growth, corporates around the world have access to a broader toolbox than ever before to align with Sustainable Development Goals.
Speaking to Investments & Pensions Europe (IPE), Noemie de la Gorce, associate director, sustainable finance at S&P Global Ratings says that new instruments – such as sustainability-linked bonds – can help investors “diversify their contribution to sustainability objectives.”
While tied to different incentive mechanisms, some investors may see these instruments as having the potential to be stronger drivers of change than green bonds – since vehicles like sustainability-linked bonds can give companies financial incentives to advance their sustainability agenda, by linking the cost of funding to specific sustainability objectives.
“Some investors see sustainability-linked bonds as more powerful than green bonds in embedding sustainability into a company’s strategy, because the environmental and social objectives apply to the whole company, instead of a specific transaction,” says de la Gorce.
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In an interview with Seafood Source, Matthew McLuckie, Director of Research at financial think tank Planet Tracker, delved into the financial risks that investors in the US$45 billion farmed shrimp industry are facing.
A lack of economic diversification, coupled with a sometimes-lower availability of external funding sources, means that a decreased oil and gas prices and shifting investor appetite could contribute to deteriorated creditworthiness for some GCC banks. That’s according to S&P Global Ratings, in its recent report mini-series exploring the credit risks that the transition towards cleaner energy sources could have on the GCC’s banks and overall economy.
Driven by an expansion of the pool of financing options for investors, the sustainable debt market will likely surpass US$400 billion in 2020, said S&P Global Ratings in the latest edition of its annual sustainable debt outlook.
As part of the “Finextra at Sibos” video highlights series, Saket Sharma, Chief Information Officer, BNY Mellon Treasury Services, was interviewed at Sibos for the video focusing on leveraging data.
The payments landscape is evolving at a phenomenal rate. New technology developments are emerging faster than ever, driven by the growing culture for digital solutions, new regulatory requirements, and the increasing number of new entrants in the market that are challenging more traditional practices with cutting-edge concepts that appeal to the tech-savvy society of today. This convergence of factors is acting as a catalyst for banks to take action and modernise payments.
The influx of fintechs into the payments space has kickstarted an unprecedented period of innovation in transaction banking. Faced with new, tech-savvy competition, evolving client expectations, and with their own legacy infrastructure far from optimal, there is an increasing urgency for banks to deliver an enhanced, digital experience to clients. In Global Finance, Marcus Sehr, Head of BNY Mellon Treasury Services – Europe, discusses how banks are rising to this challenge, and transforming the way in which payments are processed.
Green bonds have proliferated since the first green debt instrument was introduced in 2007, with banks and corporate bond issuers leading the pack. However, project bond and emerging market issuers have been more hesitant.