Social Bonds

Social bonds refer to bonds that are issued to fund initiatives that have a positive social impact such as healthcare, education and affordable housing. While these bonds have been in existence since 2015, they have grown in popularity since the coronavirus outbreak in the beginning of 2020. The pandemic, which spread to almost every country on the planet, has had a fatal impact on world economies leading to a healthcare crisis, an overall slowdown in economic activity and increasing unemployment. This has led an increasing number of governments, supranational organizations, financial institutions and corporations to resort to borrowing via social bonds to fund pandemic relief initiatives. As of May 2020, total social bond issuance volume stands at $21.8bn.