News

EU: Green bond issuance to 'gather pace' in 2024 after slow start

The EU expects to accelerate its green bond issuance in 2024 following revisions to member states' investment plans, after the massive green bond programme fell behind its targeted share of total borrowing by the bloc.

ESG 'outperformed' traditional portfolios over last decade, says UBS

Integrating ESG considerations into investment portfolios would have led to higher financial returns and "enhanced" stock selection, UBS has said, in analysis of financial performance in the last decade.

EU building energy performance deal is 'game-changer' for renovation green bonds

The draft final agreement on the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) could trigger a "renovation wave" among European bank green bonds, according to Dutch lender ABN Amro.

Bond round-up: Colombia, Metawater, Mitsui OSK Lines ... and more

European FIs 'heavily exposed' to nature risks, warns Commission

European financial institutions are "heavily exposed" to nature-related risks, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre has found, warning this could have "dire consequences" for the financial system.

Regulators need to act on greenwashing because market is failing to punish it, ESMA reports

Companies criticised for overstating their sustainability credentials have not yet seen their share prices substantially negatively impacted - which strengthens the case for intervention by regulators, according to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

UK presses ahead with listing reform, despite investors' corporate governance warnings

Fresh proposals to overhaul UK listing rules show "little sign that widely held and clearly communicated investor concerns about weakening corporate governance standards have been taken into account," one of the country's largest pension funds has warned.

Innovative nature-based solutions starved of capital, says Oxford University

Investors are currently only investing in established nature-based solutions (NBS) with traditional returns and safer risk-return profiles, Oxford University has said, warning this leaves more innovative investments, with wider benefits, lacking capital.

UK to study how it can be 'best place in the world' for transition finance

An independent review has been launched by the UK government to study how it can "become the best place in the world for raising transition capital" with a mandate that identifies assurance of financial transactions among ways the market can grow "with integrity".

BoE continues to focus on climate despite UK government de-prioritising it, Breeden says

The Bank of England will continue work to improve its understanding of climate risks to financial stability, its deputy governor Sarah Breeden has said.