Toxic Bonds

🚨 Bloomberg has been accused of misleading investors about the environmental credentials of bonds worth more than $50 billion. An investigation in Byline Times with the research group Point Source has revealed that Bloomberg is listing dozens of bonds as raising funds to be used for a “sustainable purpose” when in reality there are no restrictions on how the money can be used. The bonds were all sustainability-linked (SLBs), a type of bond that has its interest rate linked to environmental targets, but does not usually put restrictions on how the company can spend the funds raised. Some of these "sustainable purpose" bonds included: 🚫 a $2.3 billion bond issued by Enbridge, a Canadian oil pipeline company, which has operated pipelines that have been the source of millions of gallons of oil spills. Fort his bond, the SEC filings say Enbridge “does not intend to allocate the net proceeds specifically to projects or business activities meeting environmental or sustainability criteria” or to social projects. 🚫 a €1.0bn bond from Italian oil company Eni, which is in the midst of a multibillion-pound fossil fuel expansion drive, was given the same categorisation by Bloomberg. This is despite the bond documentation stating that Eni does not intend to allocate the proceeds of the bond specifically to sustainable projects or activities. https://lnkd.in/d4DrZTyE

We’ve just published a new blog exploring PT Saptaindra Sejati (Adaro Energy) controversial move to spin off its coal assets. Is this a genuine step towards aligning with climate goals, or just another case of greenwashing? Dive into the analysis and join the conversation about the implications for climate-conscious investors and the global fight against fossil fuels. 📖 Read the full blog: Adaro’s Coal Spin-Off: Growing a Climate Conscience or Simple Greenwashing? 💬 Share your thoughts in the comments or tag someone who should see this! #ToxicBonds #ClimateFinance #Greenwashing #FossilFuels Ekō BankTrack

BNP Paribas Asset Management will no longer invest in bonds issued on the primary market by oil and gas exploration and production companies. This is huge: 🥇 For the first time, a major asset manager is aligning with the scientific consensus on halting the expansion of oil and gas production by taking action on bond investments. 💸 Bonds remain a key source of funding for fossil fuel companies. Here's a real-world example of the impact: earlier this year, BNP Paribas Asset Management invested in TotalEnergies' US$4.25 billion bond issuance. Moving forward, they have committed to refusing similar investments—not just for |TotalEnergies, but also for bp, Shell, ExxonMobil, and others. Now, will others follow suit? Will Groupe Groupe Crédit Agricole do the same with its subsidiary Amundi? 👀 This marks a significant step towards cutting financial flows to fossil fuels. Reclaim Finance - ONG #ToxicBonds #ClimateAction #FossilFree

🚨 Breaking: US prosecutors have indicted Gautam Adani for bribery and fraud scheme. 🚨 This indictment isn’t just a scandal - it’s a reckoning. A multimillion-dollar bribery scheme, lies to investors, and bonds built on deception have further exposed Adani Group for what it truly is: a toxic empire. For years, many banks and investors ignored the warnings from Hindenburg Research, The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and others. Corruption, fraud, greenwashing, market manipulation, regulatory violations, human rights abuses and coal expansion have been the truth behind Adani Green Energy Ltd. so-called renewable energy leadership. Now, Adani’s stocks and bonds are in freefall, with billions wiped out in value overnight. The $600 million bond sale? Cancelled. And this is only the beginning. 🔎 Regulators worldwide are watching. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has set a precedent, and further investigations in other jurisdictions are inevitable. Financial institutions that continue to support Adani— whether through debt, equity, or financial services — are playing a dangerous game with reputations and portfolios on the line. This isn’t about just denying new debt anymore. It’s about walking away completely from the Adani Group before further regulatory action locks institutions into a scandal they can’t escape. Adani’s bonds are toxic. His business model is unsustainable. And the financial institutions clinging to his empire will find themselves exposed when the next shoe drops. 📉 Investors and banks: The question isn’t if you should distance yourself from Adani — it’s how quickly you can act before the fallout becomes irreversible. 👉 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dUb64RwC

Adani Green Energy Ltd. has pulled a $1.2 billion USD bond issuance. This is more than a reaction to market conditions – it’s a powerful signal that investor trust in Adani Group is eroding beyond repair. Adani pulled the plug on the bond sale in its final stages of marketing after investors placed bids at higher yields than the company was willing to pay. Indian US dollar deals have been popular with investors recently but Adani couldn't get enough investors interested to raise over $1 billion. For the last two years, the conglomerate has been drowning in allegations, from severe financial irregularities to outright corruption, each one raising doubts about its governance and credibility. Now, investors once eager to support Adani’s growth cannot ignore the risks exposed by Hindenburg Research, The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and others. Financial institutions must take heed, cut all ties with Adani, and protect their portfolios from this increasingly volatile and unethical entity. Now, the question for financial institutions is not if they should distance themselves from Adani, but how quickly they can do so to protect their reputations and portfolios. https://lnkd.in/di-9VQkh

Asset owners are struggling to find corporate bond products to meet their climate ambitions, with tracking error concerns a major barrier to implementing fixed income climate strategies. New research by the University of Cambridge and Lily Macfadyen Tomson looked at how global asset owners are integrating climate considerations into their corporate bond holdings and using fixed income engagement, as well as the pitfalls and barriers they face. https://lnkd.in/evBMdFPq

🚨 Yesterday, ExxonMobil issued a bond that matures in FIFTY YEARS. And Deutsche Bank, RBC, UBS, Morgan Stanley helped it secure this debt that it does not have to pay back until 2074. 🔥 🌎 And no, this bond is not designated for any green activities... Exxon is the 5th biggest oil and gas producer in the world, and it has no legitimate plans to transition. 📃 The bond prospectus reinforces this, allowing Exxon to use the money for business as usual: "We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Notes for general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, repayment of our outstanding debt, funding for working capital, acquisitions, capital expenditures and other business opportunities". 🤔 Deutsche Bank this contradicts your own commitments to net zero. How can you justify this for your business, clients and the future of our planet?

📅 Today, TotalEnergies is holding its annual investor day in New York. It must be feeling quite thankful after receiving $7.25 billion in bonds over the last 6 months, extending its fossil fuel expansion to 2064. While it's showcasing its long-term bond strategy, Total is also likely marketing another bond to pay back $500M maturing next week. 📉 Investors, take note: TotalEnergies is selling you bonds that mature 40 years into the future, but... ❓ Are you sure the bond market is pricing in the true risks of these long-dated fossil fuel bonds?  ❓ Are you sure you will be able to sell them off when nobody wants them? ❓ Are you contradicting your own climate commitments to reach net zero? Natixis Investment Managers/Groupe BPCE, Allianz/PIMCO, Deutsche Bank, Societe Generale, Citi: stop gambling with our future, betting against the energy transition and making risky investments. 📣 Follow the lead of BNP Paribas and Groupe Crédit Agricole and cut off funding and financial services to Total. https://lnkd.in/dGHSV4cW

ConocoPhillips is on course to trigger a wave of investor exclusion policies related to oil sands production, which could lead to mass outflows from its outstanding bonds.    The oil major has increased production of bitumen, a fuel extracted from oil sands, since its 2023 full acquisition of the Surmont oil facility in Canada. AFII estimates that revenues attributable to bitumen now exceed the 5% threshold frequently set by investors as an exclusion threshold.    ConocoPhillips’ forthcoming acquisition of Marathon Oil Corporation is unlikely to prevent an exodus of investors. Although the merger will enlarge the company’s revenue base, our analysis suggests that bitumen revenues will still account for more than 5% of the production of the consolidated entity.    It looks like ConocoPhillips’ long and winding journey to mass divestment is nearing its end. https://lnkd.in/gFUfpg9c #investing #sustainability #fixedincome

🚨 In the last 6 months, investors and banks have funded $7.25 billion of TotalEnergies bonds that mature up to 2064. Ahead of Total's Investors Day this Wednesday, Reclaim Finance - ONG published a briefing on the companies extremely long maturities. These bonds are a gift for TotalEnergies, which give it money it can use as it wants for decades - and banks and investors have no say. By agreeing to support 40-year long bonds in 2024, financial institutions are providing the ideal conditions for TotalEnergies to carry out its fossil fuel expansion plans. And, on top of its April and September bond issuances, TotalEnergies’ has two more bonds reaching maturity this year, on 4 October and 16 December 2024, in which the company may seek to refinance this debt. And bonds do not represent a trivial part of TotalEnergies' finances: between 2016 and 2023, they accounted for nearly 70%. This figure is all the more worrying as investors have no say in how this capital is used. And we know it's not sustainable: Total plans to devote 67% of its investments to its oil and gas business by 2030. 🌍💥 If investors are choosing to buy TotalEnergies' long dated bonds, it suggests they are betting on the failure of the energy transition and the regulations that would follow, all while publicly affirming their commitment to it. 📉 On top of the climate risk, these bonds are very financially risky. There are some major doubts about whether bond market is pricing in the true risks of these long-dated fossil fuel bonds. 📢 Banks - in particular Societe Generale, Groupe BPCE, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Citi, which participated in the French major's latest bond issues, need to catch up with BNP Paribas and Groupe Crédit Agricole by ceasing to support TotalEnergies' bond issues. We call on them not to leave any blind spots in their commitments and to stop any kind of support to companies developing new oil and gas projects (including liquefied natural gas). 🛑 Investors also need to deny debt to TotalEnergies, starting with not buying its new bonds: Allianz/PIMCO, Norges Bank Investment Management, Vanguard, Aegon, Robeco https://lnkd.in/dH8SQJJd