Over the past few years, the demand for ESG-focused financial products has continued to grow exponentially and ESG has become embedded in corporate, and therefore treasury, strategies. The longer-dated bond markets have seen success in the adoption of various forms of sustainable bonds, with over $3 trillion to date committed towards sustainable projects. The same potential to drive positive impact exists in money markets, given the strategic targets mentioned above, yet it remains largely underdeveloped to date. Whilst some early solutions have emerged, there is still a substantial gap between demand and supply of transparent and robust ESG-compliant solutions.
With this in mind, TreasurySpring has as one of its aims to fill that gap, so we are delighted to share a significant milestone in our ongoing partnership with the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Last week marked the launch of our first trade with an accredited sustainable issuer under our framework and documentation.
The collaboration between TreasurySpring and LSE was born from a shared vision of driving change in money markets by providing short-dated funding to investment-grade corporate borrowers who take an ESG approach to their funding, based on pre-defined transparent criteria. Through the partnership, the TreasurySpring platform facilitates funding between sustainable issuers and a new universe of investors that would be impossible to reach through traditional means, reducing correlation risk, as well as being additive and complementary, rather than a replacement for other forms of short-term funding.
The accreditation to recognise sustainable issuers is provided by the London Stock Exchange Group, leveraging its comprehensive ESG data and analysis methodologies to identify companies that meet certain prescribed ESG metrics or contribute to the sustainable economy through their business practices and funding frameworks.