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Issuing bonds during the Covid-19 pandemic: is there an ESG premium?

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  • Fabrizio Ferriani

    (Bank of Italy)

Abstract

We rely on the ESG ratings assigned by four distinct agencies (MSCI, Refinitiv, Robeco, and Sustainalytics) to study the link between ESG scores and firms' cost of debt financing during the Covid-19 pandemic. We document the existence of a statistically and economically significant ESG premium, i.e. better rated companies access debt at a lower cost. Despite some differences across rating agencies, this result is robust to additional controls for the issuers' credit standing as well as several bond and issuer characteristics. We find that this effect is mainly driven by firms domiciled in advanced economies, whereas creditworthiness considerations prevail for firms in emerging markets. Lastly, we show that the lower cost of capital for highly rated ESG firms is explained both by investors' preference for more sustainable assets and by risk-based considerations unrelated to firms' creditworthiness, such as exposure to climate change risks.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabrizio Ferriani, 2022. "Issuing bonds during the Covid-19 pandemic: is there an ESG premium?," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1392, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_1392_22
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    Cited by:

    1. Simone Letta & Pasquale Mirante, 2023. "Investigating the determinants of corporate bond credit spreads in the euro area," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 36, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    ESG scores; Covid-19; bond yield spreads; risk channel; non-pecuniary channel;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G4 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance

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