Fitch ESG Unit Expand Ratings on Covered and Structured Bonds

Sustainable Fitch has begun providing ESG ratings for labelled structured and covered bonds with an issuance value of US$100 billion. The metrics are the latest additions to Fitch Sustainable’s ESG Ratings, Data and Analysis unit, which has been offering data on $500bn of labelled and KPI-linked debt.

FCA Urges Refocus of Diversity Data, Reveals ESG Ratings Code Plan

The UK’s financial overseer has urged firms to review their use of data to improve their diversity and inclusion performance. Sheldon Mills, the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) executive director for consumers and competition said firms are focusing too closely on gender and diversity, rather than socio-economic data. The call follows the FCA’s announcement that it would form a code of conduct for ESG ratings firms.

Rate of Annual Sanctions Growth Nears 15%, According to Refinitiv Report

The Russia-Ukraine war has caused rapid sanctions inflation since March in several autonomous sanctions programs, contributing to a sanctions inflation rate of 14.6% year on year, according to London Stock Exchange Group’s Refinitiv Global Sanctions Index (GSI).

Refinitiv’s annual GSI white paper, the second edition of which was released last week, measures and analyses rising hyperinflation of autonomously issued sanctions programmes. The rapid inflation since March marks what Refinitiv describes as a major shift in the volumes of sanctions autonomously issued by national governments or regional bodies. The once-prevalent consensus-based sanctions mechanisms created under the aegis of the UN are an increasingly minor component of the GSI, representing just 2% of overall sanctions.

Companies Linked to Climate Risk Surges in Two Years, Says RepRisk

The percentage of companies whose business is at risk of climate impacts has risen 70 per cent in two years, according to technology provider RepRisk, which uses a variety of geolocated datasets to establish ESG hotspots around the world. Of those, 80 per cent were private companies. The number of companies at risk is now 2,200, 1,500 of which are private, RepRisk said.

ICE Service Enables Disclosure According to TCFD Framework

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has unveiled a tool that helps its financial institution clients disclose their sustainability performance in line with Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The new service pulls in ICE’s climate transition data and analytics, corporate-entity and green bond data.

Investors Fear Poor Reporting Undermines Investment, Trust in ESG

Investors are concerned that corporations’ ESG disclosures aren’t detailed enough. A survey by EY found that about three-quarters of investors didn’t believe the companies in which they invested gave sufficient data-driven insights on which to make decisions. This is undermining the smooth running of capital markets and eroding trust in ESG, the survey stated.

Capital.com to Take Refinitiv ESG Data and Sentiment Analyses

Refinitiv will supply ESG data top clients of European investment trading platform Capital.com. The data provider, part of the London Stock Exchange Group, will provide real-time data as well as AI-generated sentiment analysis.

ESG Disclosure Blueprint for Private, Alternative Investors Unveiled

A template for companies to submit their ESG disclosures to private and alternative investors has been launched. The ESG Integrated Disclosure Project (ESG IDP) template aims to promote “greater harmonisation and consistency of disclosure of key ESG indicators by borrowers in private credit and syndicated loan transactions”.

Start-up Util Raises £5m for its Environmental Impact Data Service

Util has closed a £5 million funding round that saw the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange buy stakes in the London-based sustainability data provider. Util counts Danske Bank Asset Management and Degroof Petercam Asset Management among the customers to whom it supplies environmental impact data on 50,000 companies.

Rimes Offers Clients DEI Data from Denominator

Diversity, equity and inclusivity (DEI) metrics specialist Denominator is to provide data and scores to financial institution clients of ESG data management company Rimes Technologies. Rimes, which won two gongs in this year’s A-Team Innovation Awards, described the new partnership as a “great addition to our data universe”. Denominator’s metrics are based on more than 650 DEI variables applied to more than 1.5 million private and public companies.