Tradeweb Markets Inc, a global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets, has joined the Climate Bonds Initiative’s Partners Program, a global movement seeking to mobilise bond markets for climate change solutions.
Climate Bonds Initiative is an international, investor-focused not-for-profit organisation, promoting investment in projects and assets necessary for a rapid transition to a low carbon and climate resilient economy. The Climate Bonds Standard and Certification Scheme is a labelling scheme for bonds, loans and other debt instruments.
The rigorous scientific criteria ensure consistency with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. The Scheme is used globally by bond issuers, governments, investors and the financial markets to prioritise investments, which genuinely contribute to addressing climate change. The Climate Bonds Initiative has been tracking the green labelled market since 2009. By partnering with Climate Bonds, Tradeweb aims to promote the visibility and accessibility of green bond trading activity across a wide range of asset classes, and leverage Climate Bonds data to provide transparency and clarity around our Green Bond Trading volumes.
“As one of the largest green bond marketplaces in the world, Tradeweb is proud to become an official Partner of the Climate Bonds Initiative,” says Lee Olesky, CEO of Tradeweb Markets. “A sustainable global financial system is no longer optional, it’s a necessity, so we need to leverage available ESG data and research to promote transparency and integrity in Green and Social bond trading.”
In 2020, Climate Bonds screened Green bonds accounted for USD79 billion of the total USD82 billion in Green bond trading volume executed on Tradeweb. This represents an increase of 65 per cent in screened Green Bond Trading from 2019.
The remaining USD3 billion in volume accounted for trading of non-aligned Green debt.
2020 Green Bond Trading highlights include:
- USD56.4 billion in cash rates led by global government bonds
- European government bonds (USD43.9 billion) and Other Global bonds (USD12.0billion)
- USD22.7 billion in global cash credit led by US and European corporate credit
- European Credit (USD15.5 billion) and US High-Grade Credit (USD5.7 billion)
“Green investment is expanding in depth and diversity, and Tradeweb occupies a significant position in the market,” says Sean Kidney, CEO Climate Bonds Initiative. “We welcome them to our Partners Program and look forward to working cooperatively in bringing enhanced information and transparency available to institutional investors.”
“Tradeweb’s multi-asset offering gives us a unique vantage point into ESG trading activity,” adds Simon Maisey, Global Head of Corporate Development at Tradeweb. “We remain focused on powering clients’ sustainable investment strategies with solutions that efficiently identify and highlight green bonds on our platform, ultimately providing them with a robust view of activity across a broad range of asset classes.”
As a result of the incredible growth green and sustainable markets have seen in recent years, a broadening number of government entities and corporates are now engaging with investors on ESG-aligned initiatives, while making an environmental or social impact. Tradeweb’s collaboration with the Climate Bonds Initiative helps market participants gain valuable insight into this trading activity, allowing a clearer view on how green and other sustainable securities trade in relation to their non-green counterparts. Tradeweb is committed to developing tools to identify green bonds across a wide range of asset classes, with green bond flags already available for European Government bonds and Global Credit.
