The Sustainable Economy

  • Will the Next Gen loans be needed?

    Europe’s bevy of recovery lending packages is undoubtedly a welcome gesture, but it may remain just that — a gesture. If trends continue as they are, some countries may prefer market lending to concessional loans from Europe.

    22 Oct 2020
  • Soltec Power rides ESG momentum with €150m IPO

    Soltec Power rides ESG momentum with €150m IPO

    Soltec Power Holding, the Spanish maker of solar trackers for renewable energy generation, has narrowed the price range for its IPO on the Spanish Stock Exchange, after the deal was covered shortly after the launch of bookbuilding earlier this week.

    22 Oct 2020
  • Scatec Solar borrows shares for larger equity raise

    Scatec Solar borrows shares for larger equity raise

    Scatec Solar, the Norwegian solar energy company, raised Nkr4.75bn ($512m) through an equity placing on Tuesday night. The sale was for 15% of the company’s share capital — 5% more than it was allowed to issue through a non-preemptive placing. It made up the balance by borrowing shares from its largest shareholder.

    21 Oct 2020
  • Securitization + blended finance = impact

    Securitization + blended finance = impact

    Investors wanting to make a social impact with their money are often caught between two pitfalls. Targeted social investments can seem too risky and off the beaten track — but safer alternatives have little additionality.

    20 Oct 2020
  • EIB boosts SRT investment commitment by €1bn

    EIB boosts SRT investment commitment by €1bn

    The newly established European Guarantee Fund has greenlit a further €1bn lending for risk sharing products, allowing the EIB to continue investing in significant risk transfer (SRT) transactions to support European SMEs.

    16 Oct 2020
  • Malpass begins to thaw on climate change

    Malpass begins to thaw on climate change

    Sceptics feared that Trump appointee David Malpass would reverse the World Bank's direction on climate change as president, but 18 months into his term they are starting to see evidence that he is quietly coming round to the multilateral's green agenda

    15 Oct 2020
  • C-PACE lender bolsters New York team to support growing demand

    C-PACE lender bolsters New York team to support growing demand

    Petros PACE Finance, a commercial property-assessed clean energy lender, added Jerry Ellis to the business development team in its New York office. The move comes ahead of New York's expected approval of the C-PACE bill, enabling commercial property owners to tap PACE financing for new construction projects.

    15 Oct 2020
  • EC sees renovation revolution, as ECBC hits go

    EC sees renovation revolution, as ECBC hits go

    The European Commission has unveiled bold plans to promote the renovation of existing housing stock in a bid to improve energy efficiency and so cut EU’s carbon footprint and provide a much-needed stimulus to the economy. At the same time, the European Covered Bond Council is implementing its energy efficient mortgage plan that aims to improve the supply of collateral securing green covered bond issuance.

    15 Oct 2020
  • ‘Build back better’ campaigns will have to fight worsening inequality

    ‘Build back better’ campaigns will have to fight worsening inequality

    In the facing of rising inequality in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, leading policymakers in the United and Europe are starting to set out the elements of a new policy architecture needed to focus on issues such as childcare, the impacts of climate change and the need for infrastructure investment

    14 Oct 2020
  • L&G offers HA Bernicia lengthy debt

    L&G offers HA Bernicia lengthy debt

    Bernicia, a housing association in the northeast of England, has sold long-term private debt to Legal & General. Housing associations have been a bright spark in an otherwise bleak picture for private market deal flow.

    14 Oct 2020
  • Putting the 'K' in capital markets

    Putting the 'K' in capital markets

    The coronavirus crisis will continue to lead to divergence in economic fortunes, and that will play out in European capital markets as well.

    13 Oct 2020
  • ECB's Vansteenkiste engages with green TLTRO idea

    ECB's Vansteenkiste engages with green TLTRO idea

    The European Central Bank's Isabel Vansteenkiste welcomed a proposal for green Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations (TLTROs) on Monday, but talked through what she saw as some concerns with the idea.

    12 Oct 2020

  • Home Reit raises £240m against tough IPO backdrop

    Home Reit will become the first London-listed real estate investment trust dedicated to providing accommodation for the homeless, following the successful completion of its £240.5m IPO on Thursday.

    08 Oct 2020

  • Blackstone-backed social housing group preps CMBS debut

    Sage Housing, the for-profit social housing landlord owned by Blackstone, is marketing its first CMBS issue through Deutsche Bank — a sharply different approach to financing from its housing association peer group, which usually issue ultra-long secured corporate bonds rather than true securitizations.

    06 Oct 2020
  • Doosan Fuel Cell shares dive on smaller $171m block

    Doosan Fuel Cell shares dive on smaller $171m block

    The share price of Doosan Fuel Cell Co, a subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate Doosan Group, nosedived on Tuesday after affiliates of the parent raised a smaller-than-expected W198.6bn ($171.1m) from a block trade.

    06 Oct 2020
  • Inland Homes expands loan as investment spending returns

    Inland Homes expands loan as investment spending returns

    Inland Homes, a UK housebuilder, has triggered an accordion clause on a sterling loan to finance extra construction, as lenders say there are signs that companies are using money to invest again rather than firefight the effects of Covid-19.

    02 Oct 2020
  • ECB can do better than a green TLTRO

    ECB can do better than a green TLTRO

    The ECB is mulling the idea of green Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations to boost green lending. It's a noble aim — but it should work with the policies it has first, if it is serious about environmental impact.

    01 Oct 2020
  • Mosaic brings solar ABS volume closer to 2019 levels

    Mosaic brings solar ABS volume closer to 2019 levels

    Solar Mosaic is readying a $222m securitization backed by residential consumer solar loans — its second this year. Solar ABS issuers say their investor base has multiplied during the pandemic, in part thanks to the accumulation of of loan performance data.

    28 Sep 2020
  • EU rundown, US meltdown, climate lockdown

    EU rundown, US meltdown, climate lockdown

    This week in Keeping Tabs: what explains the relative performance of different EU countries and what does this mean for fiscal and monetary policy; why you should brace for US election chaos; and how to harness finance for green purposes.

    25 Sep 2020
  • SolarEdge Technologies prices $500m CB

    SolarEdge Technologies prices $500m CB

    SolarEdge Technologies, the Nasdaq-listed Israeli smart energy company, has raised $500m by issuing a new five year convertible bond, tapping into the tremendous amount of investor appetite for ESG-friendly companies.

    23 Sep 2020
  • Yangtze Power launches Stock Connect listing in London

    Yangtze Power launches Stock Connect listing in London

    China Yangtze Power, a Chinese utility company, has launched its listing on the London Stock Exchange, becoming the third company to list in London through the London-Shanghai Stock Connect scheme. The deal is expected to be worth up to $3.4bn.

    23 Sep 2020
  • Ignitis opens IPO books after EBRD agreement

    Ignitis opens IPO books after EBRD agreement

    Ignitis Grupe, the state-owned Lithuanian energy and utility company, has opened books on its IPO on the Nasdaq Vilinus and London Stock Exchange. The company’s listing will benefit from a framework agreement signed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, under which it will participate in the IPO.

    21 Sep 2020
  • TD Securities sets up sustainable finance group

    TD Securities sets up sustainable finance group

    Amy West has been named global head of a new sustainable finance and corporate transitions group at TD Securities, which becomes the latest bank to launch a new unit working in this area.

    17 Sep 2020
  • Covid can free markets to pursue green recovery

    Covid can free markets to pursue green recovery

    The Covid-19 pandemic has been a health and economic disaster — but it also creates opportunities, say responsible investing experts. The new environment means financial players can become more ambitious, socially and environmentally.

    17 Sep 2020
  • Banks back Carney's new carbon trading push

    Banks back Carney's new carbon trading push

    Voluntary efforts could bring about a global market in trading carbon offsets, even before there is a statutory basis for this, according to the leader of a new taskforce launched by Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of England.

    14 Sep 2020
  • Ignitis begins investor education hoping for ESG bid

    Ignitis begins investor education hoping for ESG bid

    Ignitis Grupe, the state-owned Lithuanian energy and utility company, has begun marketing its IPO and is hoping that interest from investors concerned with environmental, social and governance [ESG] factors will lead to a higher valuation.

    11 Sep 2020
  • New York greenlights C-PACE bill for new construction

    New York greenlights C-PACE bill for new construction

    Market players applauded the New York State Legislature for passing the “C-PACE Bill”, legislation to allow commercial property owners to tap property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing for new construction projects. Expected to be signed into law in coming weeks, the bill unlocks an untapped market for issuers and is likely to drive origination volumes to new heights, said panellists at IMN’s Solar, PACE and ESG Investing conference.

    09 Sep 2020
  • Intensifying wildfires driving shift to solar power, panel says

    Intensifying wildfires driving shift to solar power, panel says

    Raging wildfires in California and the growing intensity of natural disasters in other parts of the country is likely to spur a shift to solar power, as consumers deal with rolling blackouts and look for cheap reliable power, according to speakers at IMN’s Solar, PACE and ESG Investing conference last week.

    08 Sep 2020
  • Irish MEP to replace Dombrovskis as CMU commissioner

    Irish MEP to replace Dombrovskis as CMU commissioner

    Mairead McGuinness has been chosen as the next commissioner in charge of financial services, financial stability and the Capital Markets Union at the European Commission. She replaces Valdis Dombrovskis, who is taking on the trade portfolio.

    08 Sep 2020
  • NIB expands lending capacity with updated statutes

    NIB expands lending capacity with updated statutes

    Nordic Investment Bank has updated its statutes, modernising and improving its risk and capital management systems. Henrik Norman, the supranational’s CEO, believes the update will improve NIB’s flexibility and allow it to act more quickly as well as expanding its lending capacity.

    03 Sep 2020