EVERY ASSET CLASS has its breakthrough year, and 2020 was the year of social bonds. The category generated $l64.2bn in 2020, according to data provider Refinitiv, 12 times more than the $13.8bn issued in 2019. But the market has been dominated by banks and government authorities, while corpo-rates have been all but absent. Some suggest the instrument's fundamental purpose - to finance projects with positive social outcomes - is ill suited to companies. Last December, Sweden's Sam-hallsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden (SBB) debunked this theory and issued a social bond attracting €2.2bn in orders. Of all the social bond issuers to date, few can match SBB's social impact credentials. Founded five years ago, the social infrastructure firm owns and leases properties across the Nordics to elderly care homes, schools, pre-schools and apartments fitted for disabled tenants.
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