The purpose of this study is to analyse the extant literature on sustainable financial products (SFP) with a comprehensive understanding of the status quo and research trends as well as characterise the existing SFP in the Latin America banking industry. In this way, research papers derived from Scopus as well as institutional reports such as main documents, sustainability reports, and product portfolios publicly available on webpages from public, private, and development banks are used to create a database of SFP where their main characteristics are included and classified. Based on the research trends identified, the results show the development of financial products focused on environmental, social, and government (ESG) matters, mainly from the credit side, of more sustainable financial markets and products under fintech ecosystems. The results show that because of regulatory and government support through mechanisms such as green protocols and social and environmental responsibility policies, private financial institutions of Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina have led the development of both social and green financial products. These study’s findings may be used for several policymakers to broaden the opportunities available in sustainable financing and thus, provide a roadmap that researchers and practicing professionals can use to improve their understanding of SFP. Finally, the study presents the potential for further research in the field, both with a qualitative and a quantitative approach.

This paper aims to propose a financial framework based on mezzanine-type debt for financing Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (SIS). In our analysis, an exploratory-type methodology based on a post-positivist approach for describing the financial eco-innovation in the sustainable infrastructure context is used and consequently, the essential framework’s theory is developed, as well as the characteristics and schemes for its functioning. Moreover, the theoretical foundations of financial eco-innovations are analyzed. It was concluded that researchers could benefit from this framework by acquiring a better knowledge of how a mezzanine-debt type could work together sustainability criteria. This paper is expected to contribute to expanding the existing knowledge and expanding funding knowledge frontiers for SIS, as well as contributes to providing a foundation for new research topics. The originality of the proposed framework is intended to establish new ways in order to close the gap between the development of SIS and financing sources using the incorporation of sustainability criteria in the financing process. Thus, the importance of this work is based on the fact that it can be used as an academic support for producing practical solutions.

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Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores play a pivotal role in the strategic design of firms. The literature has demonstrated the importance of sustainability issues in the financial performance of firms around the world. In particular, understanding the relationship between sustainability and the cost of capital is crucial for determining financial strategy and decision making. We identify an opportunity in the literature to analyze this relationship within Latin America (LatAm) firms. Thus, this study analyzes the relationship between ESG scores with the cost of capital of firms with headquarters in LatAm using a data set that includes 606 observations corresponding to information about 202 firms from 2017 to 2019. To conduct our analysis, two fixed effects panel data models were estimated. We model this relationship by taking ESG scores and each of its ESG Pillar scores—i.e., Environmental, Social, and Governance pillar scores—as independent variables and analyzing how they affect the cost of capital. According to the results, there is an inverse effect relationship between ESG scores and the cost of capital. Additionally, we did not find a relationship between the Social Pillar score and the Environmental Pillar score with the cost of capital. By contrast, the Governance Pillar score shows a negative relationship with the cost of capital. This indicates that the increase in transparency about internal processes and governance entities can be an essential driver of value creation for firms and higher financing confidence in LatAm firms. This study represents a breakthrough in explaining the impact of ESG scores on the cost of capital in LatAm. Ultimately, the current study presents the potential for further research in this field.

Wavelet power spectrum (WPS) and wavelet coherence analyses (WCA) are used to examine the co-movements among oil prices, green bonds, and CO2 emissions on daily data from January 2014 to October 2022. The WPS results show that oil returns exhibit significant volatility at low and medium frequencies, particularly in 2014, 2019–2020, and 2022. Also, the Green Bond Index presents significant volatility at the end of 2019–2020 and the beginning of 2022 at low, medium, and high frequencies. Additionally, CO2 futures’ returns present high volatility at low and medium frequencies, expressly in 2015–2016, 2018, the end of 2019–2020, and 2022. WCA’s empirical findings reveal (i) that oil returns have a negative impact on the Green Bond Index in the medium term. (ii) There is a strong interdependence between oil prices and CO2 futures’ returns, in short, medium, and long terms, as inferred from the time–frequency analysis. (iii) There also is evidence of strong short, medium, and long terms co-movements between the Green Bond Index and CO2 futures’ returns, with the Green Bond Index leading.