Morgan Stanley closes green bonds to focus on market-based solutions
Morgan Stanley has closed on its US$500 million (Bt16.9 billion) green bond issuance - its inaugural green bond and the latest step in its strategy to advance market-based solutions to social and environmental challenges.
Since 2006, the firm has facilitated over $61 billion of capital for clean tech and renewable energy businesses.
The bond proceeds will be allocated to various renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects.
A substantial amount will correspond with investments in existing and future third-party renewable energy projects, primarily wind farms, including Route 66 Wind, a 150-megawatt wind farm under construction in Texas, and Rattlesnake Wind Energy Centre, a 207MW wind power project also under construction in Texas.
Ahead of this offering, Morgan Stanley created a framework aligned with the Green Bond Principles.
The framework describes the process for selecting projects to receive funding, with the aim of ensuring that the Morgan Stanley green bond operates with high levels of transparency, disclosure and verification.
The proceeds will be deposited into a segregated Morgan Stanley account for tracking disbursements.
Morgan Stanley’s green bond has received a comprehensive review from an independent certification expert in renewables and energy efficiency, and an independent accountant will report with respect to stated disbursements.
Project updates and impact-focused reporting for this issuance will be made available on a dedicated website.
“Our work as an underwriter of green bonds has already helped direct billions of dollars towards environmentally and socially responsible projects, and it is rewarding to now issue our own green bond supporting projects that generate positive environmental impact,” Celeste Brown, global treasurer, said last week.
Morgan Stanley has been a pioneer in green bonds, underwriting transactions globally for multilateral development banks, corporations, agencies and municipalities.
These transactions have included notable industry firsts – corporate green bond, automobile asset-backed securities green bond and US university green bond.
Since 2013, Morgan Stanley has led 27 green bond transactions representing over $15 billion in principal.
The firm is a founding signatory of the Green Bond Principles – voluntary guidelines for the development and issuance of green bonds, encouraging transparency, disclosure and integrity in the development of the green bond market.
Morgan Stanley’s green bond is part of the firm’s broader commitment to sustainable finance.
In 2013, Morgan Stanley established the Institute for Sustainable Investing to accelerate the mainstream adoption of sustainable investing by developing industry-leading insights and scalable finance solutions to address global challenges.
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s Investing with Impact Platform provides individual and institutional investors with a wide range of sustainable investing products.
Through the platform, Morgan Stanley financial advisers can identify opportunities supporting specific social and environmental benefits without compromising financial performance potential.
“Morgan Stanley is committed to helping clients develop and pursue sustainable investing solutions, like green bonds, that can address social and environmental challenges at scale,” said Audrey Choi, CEO of the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing.
“Through the Institute for Sustainable Investing and our Investing with Impact Platform, Morgan Stanley is well-positioned to meet the growing demand for quality sustainable investing products.”
