Developing the Thematic Bond Market in Latin America and the Caribbean: Brazil's First Sustainable Bond by a Public Financial Institution

Abstract

This paper describes the issuance of the first sustainable bond in Brazil, executed by the Banco de Desenvolvimento de Minas Gerais (BDMG) with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group. It highlights key features of the transaction as well as the role that public financial institutions can play in developing the thematic bond market. The bond supported projects with measurable environmental and social benefits, such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, water and sanitation, health, and education projects, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and was developed following a Sustainability Bond Framework in accordance with the Green Bond Principles, the Social Bond Principles, and the Sustainability Bond Guidelines.