Twin bonds: recap ahead of Denmark’s EuGB issuance

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Denmark is preparing to issue the first government bond aligned with the new EU Green Bond Standard. This will be in a ‘twin bond’ format, meaning the green instrument will be paired with a conventional counterpart. 

In this paper, we review twin bonds issued by Denmark, Germany, Colombia, and Japan to see how certain design choices, like convertibility, may affect the persistence – and level – of greenium. 

We find that unique features have the potential to drive pricing differentials, and that the explicit convertibility between green and conventional pairs offered by Denmark helps support their green bonds’ tradability.