London Stock Exchange hails CEB’s largest sterling and second Social Inclusion Bond
The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), a multilateral development bank with an exclusively social mandate, was honoured to close the markets at the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday 29 September.
The closing ceremony celebrates the largest CEB Benchmark transaction denominated in sterling and the largest orderbook to date. It also marks the second CEB Social Inclusion Bond (SIB) to be listed on the London Stock Exchange.
As a pioneer and active issuer in the social bond market, the CEB has played a defining role in this field. The Bank is a founding member of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) social bond working group, which helped establish the Social Bond Principles as the global standard.
Initially focusing on EUR only, since 2020 the CEB has expanded its SIB issuance to ten currencies. As the seventh SIB currency, the GBP transactions highlight the CEB’s commitment to fostering a diverse and resilient social bond market, while responding flexibly to a growing need for socially responsible investments.
SIBs mark their 10th anniversary in 2027. Since their creation in 2017, SIBs have enabled the CEB to support a range of vital social projects across Europe. They have helped improve education facilities for almost 3.3 million students, supported MSME lending that provides employment for roughly 1.3 million people, financed social housing for almost 365 000 people, and helped nearly 1 800 healthcare establishments improve access to quality care.
SIB issuances represent over 50% of the CEB’s annual funding so far in 2026.
