London Stock Exchange welcomes Council of Europe Development Bank’s (CEB) historic sterling social inclusion bond
The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), a multilateral development bank with an exclusively social mandate, is delighted to close London Stock Exchange’s markets today.
The Market Close ceremony celebrates a double milestone, as the first sterling SSA Social Bond to be listed on the London Stock Exchange as well as CEB’s inaugural Social Inclusion Bond (SIB) benchmark transaction denominated in sterling.
A pioneer in the social bond market, the CEB has played a defining role in this field as an active issuer and a founding member of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) social bond working group, leading to the establishment of the Social Bond Principles as the industry standard.
Initially focusing on EUR only, since 2020 the CEB has expanded its issuance to multiple currencies. As the seventh SIB currency, the sterling transaction highlights the CEB’s commitment to fostering a diverse and resilient social bond market, responding flexibly to a growing need for socially responsible investments.
Since 2017, through SIBs the CEB has financed education projects where almost 3.7 million students have had access to better facilities and thanks to MSME lending roughly 1.4 million people have been able to maintain their jobs. Almost 365,000 people are living in the social housing dwellings financed by the CEB and close to 1,900 health care establishments provide access to quality care.
SIB issuances represent over 40% of the CEB’s annual funding.
