Will ESG reshape APAC debt capital markets?
Scott Reid
Head of Debt Capital Markets, APAC, Alter Domus | Private Debt Markets | Loan Administration | Loan Agent | Facility Agent | Security Trustee | Private Credit Markets | Venture Debt
While we often associate ESG with equities, innovative ‘green loan’ and ‘green bond’ products are giving investors new tools to re-think traditional risk / return payoffs.
For debt deals, ESG is particularly important given that debt deals are without the equity ‘upside’ and thus investors face often long-dated, unlikely but potentially catastrophic risk.
Downside risk protection
Recognition of the power of ESG analysis is relatively recent, as asset owners have come to accept correlation between ESG issues, credit risk and deal performance.
In APAC this has been an important change as traditionally ‘green’ investors would avoid ‘bad’ companies, whereas in recent years there has been an explosion of ‘green’ opportunities.
ESG evolution
Whereas pre-GFC ESG risk might have been viewed as a ‘reputational’ issue, innovations in reporting metrics and ESG benchmarks has resulted in ESG issues becoming reportable and actionable performance issues.
领英推荐
Green Loan Reporting
While markets are familiar with complex loan and collateral arrangements, Green Loans add an additional layer of reporting with new taxonomies and reporting requirements.
From senior infrastructure and real estate debt to mezzanine arrangements there is a plethora of industry specific reporting mechanisms that generate high value insights for asset owners.
Green Securitization Reporting
CLOs present additional reporting challenges, as deal makers go through a process of warehousing and securitizing pools of corporate loans.
CLOs generate the need for sophisticated ESG data insights that cover the entire CLO structure. From issuer, to notes issued and underlying loan portfolio level performance.
ESG Tech Innovation
As science and technology gives us additional means to deliver on our ESG commitments, administrators have the opportunity to develop new ways to report on asset allocation and ESG impact.
While some may ask whether we need to trade ESG for high returns, clever managers will find innovative ways to leverage science with reporting tech to maximize competitive advantage.