Stockholm (NordSIP) – The social bonds market appears to have gained some traction at the end of the first quarter of 2025. Concomitantly with the recent European Investment Bank (EIB) bond, Kommuninvest, a Swedish municipal funding agency, also came to the market at the start of April with its inaugural social bond, confirming expectations.
The SEK3 billion senior unsecured bond pays a 2.625% coupon and was priced at 15 basis points over mid-swaps. Danske Bank, SEB and Swedbank acted as Joint Lead Managers on this transaction. 8 investors participated in this transaction with more than SEK 5 billion in interest. The bond received demand from both domestic accounts and the rest of Europe, and from Asia and the Middle East.
The transaction was hailed by Swedbank as “a milestone issuance that further paves the way for the social bond market in Sweden” and as “the largest social issuance in a public format by a domestic issuer”.
“This social bond marks an important step in our efforts to build a financing program that promotes social sustainability. We are pleased with the strong investor interest and look forward to continuing to support projects that make a real difference in society,” says Tobias Landström, Head of Debt Management at Kommuninvest.
Loans can be granted to municipalities and regions, including their companies, that want to strengthen and make visible their work for social sustainability. The financing is normally conditional on the implementation of target group-oriented social initiatives aimed at achieving defined social goals.
In its Second Opinion, Sustainalitics evaluated Kommuninvest’s Social Bonds Framework as credible, impactful and aligning with the four core components of the Social Bonds Principle 2020 published by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA).
By mid-March, Kommuninvest had disbursed SEK 4.9 billion in Social Sustainability Loans. In total, Kommuninvest’s sustainable loans (Green Loans and Social Sustainability Loans) accounted for 17.7% of Kommuninvest’s total lending in 2024.
