AIB on Wednesday became the first Irish bank to venture into the burgeoning green bonds market, raising €1 billion of capital to support lending towards renewable energy projects and green buildings. In July, Dutch lender De Volksbank sold €500 million of subordinated Tier 2 green bonds. Green bond activity has been more muted so far this year as countries and businesses focused on raising mainstream debt amid the coronavirus crisis. Still, credit ratings firm Moody’s estimates that full-year green bond sales could still amount to as much as $225 million, driven by European issuers. Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency entered the market in 2018 with the sale of €3 billion of green bonds and raised an additional €2 billion in 2019.

Source: The Irish Times September 23, 2020 10:23 UTC