OVERVIEW - USD 55bn green bonds issued in 9-mo 2016

Over USD 18 billion of green bonds were issued in the third quarter (Q3) of 2016, bringing nine-month issuance for the year to just under USD 55 billion (EUR 50.5bn), shows the latest overview by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI).

The non-profit group said it expects USD 80 billion+ of green bonds for 2016, but says it could be more. Below you can see pieces of its overview.

GREEN BONDS QUARTER 3 ROUND-UP

Q3 2016 was the second largest quarter to date with USD 18.1 billion, with Q2 2016 narrowly holding onto the lead with USD 18.8 billion. Including all ‘green labelled’ issuance, some of which does not meet international definitions of green, Q3 issuance topped USD 20 billion.

The remaining figures in this Round-Up only reflect bonds that meet international definitions of green.

Issuance by Region

Asia had the fastest green bond issuance growth ever, in the order of 600% from 2015-2016!
Asia has moved up from being the 4th largest region of green bond issuance in 2015 to being 1st in 2016!
European 2016 green bond issuance is 24 times higher than 2012!

The largest bonds were issued by Bank of China (USD 3bn), Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (USD 2.2bn) and Mexico City Airport (USD 2bn). The Bank of China bond was of particular significance as it was issued in three different currencies (USD, EUR, CNY) and in three different markets.

Certified Climate Bond issuance amounted to USD 522 million, bringing the total Certified bonds for 2016 to USD 5 billion. Certified issuance for the quarter came from Treasury Corp of Victoria (Australia) and NTPC (India).

88% of green bonds received external reviews – this is up from 65% in Q2 and lifts the average for the year to 71% - great news!

Other key points

Issuance from corporates and commercial banks amounted to 70% of the Q3 total, further demonstrating just how much the market has shifted from development banks to corporates. Issuance from development banks and municipalities were down a little compared to Q2, but remained strong.

Emerging markets setting the benchmarks, with China leading global issuance at 38% of the Q3 total and Mexico in second place.

New issuers made up approximately 55% of issuance and included Bank of China, the first issuer from Finland -- MuniFin’s inaugural USD 500 million green bond, as well as a first from the BRICS Bank -- the newest multilateral development bank.

Diverse range of currencies: USD accounted for 58% of issuance and Chinese yuan for 22%.

NEW UNDERWRITER LEAGUE TABLES

League tables collated using Thomson Reuters data show Bank of America (BoA) Merrill Lynch in top spot!

For details on the table and methodology please see http://www.climatebonds.net/2016/11/green-bonds-quarter-3-round-usd-181bn-issued-underwriters-league-tables-thomson-reuters.

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