Columbia Threadneedle: Social bond market responds to the coronavirus crisis
Columbia Threadneedle: Social bond market responds to the coronavirus crisis
By Simon Bond, Director of Responsible Investment Portfolio Management
According to Simon Bond, Director of Responsible Investment Portfolio Management at Columbia Threadneedle, now is a good time for governments, corporates and supranational organisations to consider issuing social bonds in response to the Covid-19 health crisis. Such bonds could support communities impacted by coronavirus by providing targeted support for health and other essential services.
Just today (2 April 2020), there have been two new bond issues by the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), both well oversubscribed with investors (3.9 and 5.9 times respectively) and both aimed at providing targeted financial support to European companies, health interventions, and the economy as a whole. The CEB’s new bond for example will allow the acquisition of medical equipment and consumable materials, the rehabilitation and transformation of spaces, medical units, and the mobilisation of additional expertise. It will also focus on the preservation of jobs.
Other examples include the International Finance Corporation, the Inter-American Development Bank, African Development Bank and Nordic Investment Bank who have reacted swiftly by issuing new bonds over the last few weeks. We are particularly pleased to have participated in these issues via our Threadneedle (Lux) European Social Bond Fund.