The Box

Banks earn syndication fees for arranging bonds and loans for clients. Using their reputation in the market, banks help to attract investors to new issuances. 

Yet this significant fee-generating activity often falls outside the scope of banks' sustainability policies, which tend to focus on direct lending.

Putting a bank “in the box” is a recognised market practice, in which dealers are removed as a trading counterparty, and effectively sanctioned by investors for poor behaviour. Investors can use this approach to promote sustainable business at their banks. By directing business to those banks with syndication activity that aligns with their climate and nature objectives, investors can use their dealings with banks to incentivise change.

Every quarter, the Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute publishes data showing the proportion of syndication fees that banks have generated from both green and fossil fuel loan and bond issuances, to support market participants in assessing their counterparties' commitment to climate goals.  We also provide data on issuance from entities linked to deforestation in our reports, which can be accessed below.

AFII provides updated league tables ahead of IMM derivative roll dates (20 Mar, 20 Jun, 20 Sep, 20 Dec), which are typically high-volume trading days, to support investors in directing their business.