Online articles

• Buy-side demands on ESG data and disclosure in securitisation grow

  Australia’s securitisation market may be on the cusp of an environmental, social and governance acceleration. Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Moody’s Analytics and KangaNews Sustainable Finance gathered a group of leading securitisation investors to discuss buy-side requirements in this space – finding a need for more, and more granular, data.

• Credibility key to carbon trading boom

  Market users say corporate engagement with Australia’s carbon market continues to grow despite recent headlines questioning the integrity of the instruments. The negative coverage demonstrates why credibility is critical as this voluntary market takes its place supporting corporate net-zero goals.

• Futureproofing, collaboration and alignment at the heart of XRB’s regime

  New Zealand’s External Reporting Board has progressed to the second consultation document stage as it prepares local mandatory climate-risk reporting standards. In the challenging areas of strategy, and metrics and targets, the board says it has been guided by the principles of futureproofing, collaboration and international alignment.

• Green weighting factor scores as need for action soars

  Sustainable finance leaders are increasingly focused on delivering meaningful decarbonisation targets in a timespan measured in months rather than years or decades. Natixis CIB laid the groundwork with the introduction of its green weighting factor, which gives it a measurement tool and a means of starting conversations with clients about their climate impact and transition trajectory.

• KangaNews launches new sustainable bond league tables to capture market evolution

  KangaNews has launched its revamped sustainable bond league tables for the Australian and New Zealand markets, having updated the league table criteria to include sustainability-linked as well as labelled bonds, following a period of extensive research. The goal is to deliver a robust, best-practice methodology that can adapt to market evolution while demanding high standards from issuers and deal arrangers.

• Private debt provides fertile ground for ESG impact

  As a private debt investor, Metrics Credit Partners aims to bring leverage to bear as a lender and adviser that is not available in the mainstream syndicated loan market. The cohort of borrowers in the private debt sector is also fertile ground for sustainable finance, as the market has so far typically focused only on the largest corporate entities.

• Purpose leads New Zealand sustainable finance takeup

  Corporate borrowers in New Zealand are increasingly engaged with sustainable finance, most obviously fuelling a sustainability-linked loan boom. Westpac New Zealand’s Auckland-based head of sustainable finance, Joanna Silver, explains that greater understanding of the broad-based benefits of a credible environmental, social and governance strategy has helped attract companies to the market.

• Refreshed ASFI delivers market leadership

  The Australian Sustainable Finance Institute has a new board, a more permanent role and a freshly minted executive officer, Kristy Graham. The institute’s goals have not changed: to drive realignment of the Australian financial services system so more money flows to support sustainability. Graham updates KangaNews Sustainable Finance on developments including taxonomy progress and work with international peers.

• Reliance Rail states its ESG ambition by combining green loan with SLL

  Reliance Rail says the addition of sustainability-linked features to its green loan will help it achieve environmental goals beyond its existing asset pool, such as energy consumption targets and emissions reduction. Any margin savings will be directed to sustainability improvements rather than reducing funding costs, which the borrowers says is a distinguishing feature of its facility.

• Sleeper SLLs awaken, more sustainable innovation ahead

  Australia’s sustainability-linked loan market has experienced rapid growth and lenders say a wave of vanilla debt issued in 2021 could switch to sustainability-linked loan format this year if borrowers meet requirements. The next phase is a sign of the changing business culture, in which issuers, investors and intermediaries are embracing innovation and seeking to apply green financing principles as widely as...

• SLLs add use cases in New Zealand

  A pair of environmental, social and governance-aligned loans written by New Zealand borrowers in March demonstrate the growing local appeal of this type of borrowing. Auckland Council demonstrated the applicability of sustainability-linked debt in the government sector, while Morrison & Co introduced a sustainability use-of-proceeds facility to the public-private partnership space.

• Taking the lead on sustainable finance evolution

  The sustainable finance market has come a long way in a relatively short time. Less than a decade has passed since the first issuance of Australian dollar green bonds and, in that time, volume has grown, the number of active issuers and investors has soared and new products have risen to prominence. The goal of BNP Paribas is to stay on top of developments to help guide its clients through this critical period.

• Toitu Tahūa – Centre for Sustainable Finance: the first 180 days

  This time last year was a time of transition for the New Zealand Sustainable Finance Forum. Perhaps most significantly, it launched its Roadmap for Action and formed a transition group – “SFF 2.0” – to move from the words of the roadmap to the actions it called for. The forum’s co-chair, Ross Pennington, updates on development.

• Transition ramps up in global funding markets

  Transition has become a buzz word in global sustainable finance markets. Two Sydney-based Citi executives – Ian Campbell, head of sustainability and corporate transitions, Australia and New Zealand , and Ollie Williams, head of debt capital markets, Australia and New Zealand – are joined by Keith Tuffley, vice chairman and global co-head of sustainability and corporate transitions at Citi...