The Bond Buyer: Kestrel to offer green, social bond verification on competitive muni sales

Kestrel Verifiers is offering a new service that lets underwriters add green, social and sustainable designations to competitive municipal bond sales.

California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) received the award for its 2019 issuance to finance the expansion of its headquarters. We were proud to provide the external review that allowed them to achieve Climate Bonds Certification.

2020 Environmental Finance Award for Asset-Backed Bond

Connecticut Green Bank was recognized with two honors highlighting the innovation and success of their April 2019, $38.6 million in green asset-backed securities—the first-ever solar asset-backed security transaction by a green bank.

Connecticut Green Bank was among the recipients of Bond Buyer’s annual Deal of the Year awards as the winner in the Innovative Financing category for their 2020 Green Liberty Bond.

Connecticut Green Bank unveiled its plans to bring to market approximately $15 to $20 million of new $1,000 face value “Green Liberty Bonds” in recognition of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Last year, the Green Bank worked with Kestrel Verifiers to certify the 2019 notes against the Climate Bonds Standard. The Green Bank considers Kestrel to be the “gold standard” in green bond verification and has engaged the firm to verify the new Green Liberty Bonds.

The public pension, the second-biggest in the nation, is selling $281 million in tax-exempt municipal green bonds at a time when wealthy Californians are snapping up such debt to drive down their tax bills and when buyers are increasingly seeking investments intended to lessen the impact of climate change. Kestrel Verifiers provided an external review on the alignment of the securities with the Climate Bonds Standard.

Minneapolis returns to the market Wednesday with its second green-designated general obligation deal to finance its new public service center. Kestrel concluded in its opinion that the city’s project and financing, allocation and oversight is aligned with the Green Bond Principles and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

As the acceleration of green investing continues, questions, comments and misconceptions abound. In this article, Kestrel addresses green bond questions from various market participants.

Second webinar in the series Green Bonds in the Golden State: A Practical Path for Issuers presented by the California State Treasurer’s California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC). This session focuses on the practical elements of project evaluation, the plan of finance, and the certification model that positions a project for the most advantageous green issuance. Kestrel CEO Monica Reid shares the verifier’s perspective—describing what’s involved in an external review and how this supports the green bond designation.