In our quarterly series dedicated to green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked labeled bonds, we break down the market by multiple bond and issuer characteristics to identify key trends in this rapidly growing and increasingly diverse market.
The market added USD 85 billion (net) of labeled bonds during the fourth quarter of 2023, bringing the total outstanding to USD 3.4 trillion at year-end. Relatively low issuance over the quarter resulted in full-year issuance landing at the same level as in the previous year (USD 0.74 trillion). Nevertheless, labeled bonds increased their presence in global-bond benchmarks throughout 2023.
Gross issuance and amount outstanding (last five years)
Data as of Dec. 29, 2023. “SLB” stands for sustainability-linked bonds. Source: Refinitiv, MSCI ESG Research
