ESG DAILY: Social Bond Sales Surge to Record in Global Pandemic

Social bond sales reached record highs in the first half of 2020 as governments, supranational entities and companies boosted borrowing to get through the pandemic.

• Issuance across the globe totaled $41.9 billion, up 376% from the same period last year, driven by large sales from issuers including French unemployment insurance management body Unédic Asseo, the Republic of Korea and the African Development Bank, BloombergNEF reported. The sale of green bonds -- a separate category of sustainable debt that’s the largest by dollar volume -- fell 8% to $119.6 billion in the first half
• “There is a groundswell of interest from ...