Awards for Excellence 2020
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There is fierce competition in sustainable finance in Western Europe, but this year one bank stands out for its commitment across all the sectors and countries in which it operates and for its work on ensuring the needs of both environment and society are addressed.
This year HSBC wins the award for the best bank for sustainable finance in Western Europe. Landmark green deals are HSBC’s bread and butter – and the last 12 months have proved to be no exception. The bank is on the roster for deals such as BNG’s $1 billion sustainability bond, the EIB’s £1 billion five-year green bond and AFD’s €1 billion green bond.
“During 2020 there has been a clear shift to social bonds,” points out Farnam Bidgoli, HSBC’s head of sustainable bonds, debt capital markets Europe, Middle East and Africa.
And HSBC has also been leading here. It was joint bookrunner for Nordic Investment Bank’s €1 billion three-year Covid-19 impact alleviation bond and the social bond for Instituto de Credito Oficial to support small and medium-sized enterprise lending and social issues across Spain.
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Farnam Bidgoli |
When it comes to debut transactions, HSBC is often the bank of choice for borrowers. For example, it was lead manager on the first sustainability bond in Austria for OKB, and was green structuring adviser and joint bookrunner on CaixaBank’s inaugural social senior non-preferred bond.
HSBC is also a pioneer in the field of sustainable finance in new markets. The bank started training its employees in biodiversity finance in 2018 – a topic that is now being recognized as urgent given the levels of biodiversity loss.
HSBC also launched a 12-month research project with the London School of Economics to examine how best to manage the transition to a low-carbon economy in UK communities and regions at risk.
Indeed, the bank’s research papers on sustainability exemplify the group’s overall dedication to the agenda.
It published more than 80 reports on the topic between April 2019 and March this year.
Finally, HSBC is influencing the conversation around the transition to net zero carbon through its role as an asset owner. HSBC Global Asset Management is in the top five of global asset managers who voted in favour of climate resolutions in the ShareAction report released last November.
