Capital markets have a critical role to play in accelerating the transition to a sustainable economy. BNP Paribas has innovated across sustainable bonds and loans, and sustainable finance publication Environmental Finance recognised the bank in three key category of its Bond Awards 2022:
- Loan structurer/arranger/coordinator of the year
- Lead manager of the year, sustainability-linked bonds
- Lead manager of the year, social bonds – financial institution
The publication highlighted the Bank’s integrated sustainable finance approach and especially leadership on new developments, noting, “the French bank secured the SLB lead manager award for the first time after building an impressive presence in this fast-growing market.”
The challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and the Covid-19 pandemic have led to ESG issues being at the forefront of investors, corporates and the finance industry’s priorities throughout 2021.
Agnes Gourc, Head of Sustainable Finance Markets at BNP Paribas, explained the approach, noting, “more than any given deal, we are most proud of the breadth of the transactions we have delivered for our clients.”
This has included extending sustainable finance across the market, and Gourc expects this evolution to continue, expecting “the next big area of development for sustainable finance is in the asset-backed space… we have seen some ESG transactions already – and structured a number of them – but see more to be done.”
As a leader in sustainable finance, BNP Paribas has supported issuers and borrowers in developing new frameworks and structures to tackle their pressing sustainability transition needs. This includes ensuring materiality across the market, and the bank has played an active role in many landmark transactions including:
- Sovereign – In March 2022, BNP Paribas supported the landmark SLB from Chile, the world’s first sovereign sustainability-linked bond (SLB). The $2 billion SLB had two KPIs focussed on emissions and renewable energy. BNP Paribas served as Joint Structuring Agent and Joint Bookrunner on the deal, which is the latest in a series of landmark sustainable finance transactions supported by the Bank in Latin America and globally.
- Social – BNP Paribas supported the $750 million OneMain Financial social bond in June 2021 – a first from a high-yield issuer – and the £472 million ($623 million) social bond from Kensington Mortgage in February 2021, which was the first social residential mortgage-backed security (RMBS) in the UK.
- Retail – In December 2021, BNP Paribas supported Marks and Spencer in aligning its £850 million SLL with the company’s new net zero strategy.