Retail Green bonds plan sparks worries

摘要

Public and private-sector entities are considering issuing Green bonds targeted specifically at retail investors to tap demand for ethical products in which to invest, though the plans have triggered concerns in some quarters over potential mis-selling. The next logical step to the growing Green bond market is to market it to individual investors, issuers in the space said, though such a move is likely to intensify the debate on how the Green credentials of these bonds are checked and monitored. "I think the retail market for Green bonds is potentially strong, and will be complementary to Green bond issuance targeted at institutional investors," Doris Herrera-Pol, director and global head of capital markets at the World Bank, said at a conference in London last week, a view echoed by other government-guaranteed issuers.