Rabobank

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten failed to reach full subscription for its €750m November 2025 sustainability bond this week, with the issuer attributing the lack of orders to the volatile market conditions.

A pair of socially responsible investment deals from public sector borrowers received mixed views on Monday from on-looking SSA bankers. Instituto de Crédito Oficial was able to tighten its spread by 3bp for its first syndication of 2018, while Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten returned for its second sustainability bond of the year.

Gunvor, the Swiss energy and commodities trading company, has signed a $1.68bn revolving credit facility, having increased it during syndication as lenders piled into the transaction.

Socially responsible investment deals were the focus of attention in the primary SSA market this week, as the World Bank and the Flemish Community of Belgium sold well-received green and sustainability bonds, respectively. Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten and Eurofima have added to the public sector SRI pipeline, which is showing no signs of slowing down as the year end approaches.

The Netherland’s AVR has signed a €100m sustainable credit facility, with the waste to energy company pushing out maturities to up to seven years.

The Flemish Community of Belgium was twice covered for its debut sustainability bond on Monday, following the completion of a pan-European roadshow last week. Meanwhile, Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten has added to the SRI pipeline after mandating banks for its second sustainability trade of the year.

Rating: Aaa/AAA

Nederlandse Waterschapsbank (NWB) will look to fill the €1bn-€1.5bn it has left to raise this year with its annual water bond benchmark and potentially a short end benchmark. That is in keeping with the wider SSA market, where bankers expect socially responsible investment (SRI) issuance to form the bulk of this year’s final trades.

The European Financial Stability Facility has opted to tackle a part of the euro curve where KfW found substantial demand last week, with a trade that SSA bankers said should provide a steer on the health of the euro market. There was one positive sign for the sector on Monday, as a Dutch agency increased the size of an SRI bond from its initial target.

Green bond bankers believe the Dutch government’s decision to issue its first green bond next year will encourage other borrowers in the country to follow suit — even though many of the large bond issuers have already done so. They are speculating about whether the government might break its long habit and syndicate the bond — and also hope it will use the opportunity to set a template of best practice, writes Jon Hay.

A megayacht of a trade from KfW this week suggested that potential headwinds — including the end of quantitative easing, Italy’s reckoning with the European Commission and Angela Merkel’s plan to step away from politics — are failing to sink sentiment in the euro market. But some SSA bankers warned that the trade was more just proof that KfW can float in these conditions — and that an upcoming deal for the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) will be a better buoy for the sector’s currents.

The Netherlands plans to join the burgeoning list of sovereign green bond issuers and could become the first triple-A rated country in the group. Whether the bond will be via syndication or the country's preferred auction method has yet to be decided. Meanwhile, two of the country’s public sector SRI borrowers were busy in the format this week.