In the first quarter of 2021, one in five investment grade and leveraged loans issued in the European markets were linked to environmental, social or governance (ESG) objectives, according to the Association for Financial Markets in Europe’s first quarter 2021 ESG finance report. This is the highest level on record for the market, which has grown rapidly in the past four years.
BBVA is believed to have led the world’s first green syndicated loan in 2017, and that year the green-loan market (as it was then) accounted for just 0.3% of all loans originated in Europe. As of the end of 2020, the broader ESG loan market in Europe had grown to 13.7% of all loans originated.
