Michael Hurley

Articles by Michael Hurley

  • Chile prepares to issue green bond

    31 May 2019

    Chile is preparing to become the first country from the Americas to issue a green bond, as it revealed that a green transaction could help it raise up to $1.5 billion this year.

  • France sets €10bn investment target for public-private initiative

    31 May 2019

    The French government has unveiled a major public-private collaboration to leverage a total of €10 billion ($11 billion) of environmentally-themed investments.

  • $7bn of Chinese soy chain capital ‘exposed to deforestation risk’

    31 May 2019

    Chinese financial institutions have been urged to manage their exposure to deforestation risks, after a study found that about $7 billion in bond and share issues by companies in the country’s soy supply chain are exposed.

  • Agriculture giant pens $750m sustainability-linked loan

    30 May 2019

    Agricultural goods firm Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has tied the interest rate on a $750 million loan in North America to its performance on sustainability criteria, and plans to replicate this with existing loans in other markets.

  • Bonds round-up: KfW, Nordea, Indiana Finance Authority, Entra ASA, Atrium Ljungberg and more...

    29 May 2019

    The German development bank has now issued 23 green bonds, from which it has raised almost $21 billion.

  • Standardise Sharia approach to ESG, says S&P

    29 May 2019

    A standardised approach to Sharia interpretation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors should be developed that can boost existing growth opportunities for green sukuk, rating agency S&P has said.

  • Straight exclusion funds should not be labelled sustainable, argues Robeco

    28 May 2019

    Funds that look to improve their sustainability credentials merely by excluding companies from investment “should be a thing of the past”, according to Robeco.

  • EU sets date for publication of sustainability taxonomy

    28 May 2019

    The European Commission will on 18 June publish final reports on the EU sustainability taxonomy and green bond standards, and an interim report on climate-related benchmark indexes.

  • 'Prepare for abrupt repricing’ of climate risks in sovereign bonds

    24 May 2019

    Climate risk is underestimated as a risk factor by investors in sovereign bonds, who should prepare for the possibility of “an eventual abrupt repricing of environmental risks, including climate risks”, according to the findings of a major study.

  • Bonds round-up: TenneT, Philips, NWB, LBBW, Avangrid and more...

    22 May 2019

    SFIL, a state-owned lender to French local authorities, has issued a €1 billion ($1.1 billion) social bond, following a similar transaction by its Caffil subsidiary in February 2019.