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ESG Disclosure Initiative

$11.6 trillion – or $1 of every $4 invested in the United States – was invested under ESG investment strategies.

SFA and its Members are Developing an ESG Framework and Reporting Standards specific to Structured Finance

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This year SFA welcomed members to the ESG Disclosures Taskforce. The members represent every role in securitization—issuers, investors, servicers, data services—to consider the environmental, social and governance impacts that are material and relevant to structured finance.

To participate in this important and timely work, please use the ‘Join Today’ button on the right of the screen.

Publications

September 14, 2023

SFA is pleased to announce the publication of its ESG best practice disclosures. This publication, which includes both benchmarking and commentary documents, represents efforts from SFA’s ESG Working Groups to establish best practices for the securitization industry to report and disclose ESG metrics across asset classes.

April 4, 2022

SFA hosted hundreds of industry members for a webinar introducing and reviewing the 12 ESG frameworks most widely accepted at the corporate level in a broad range of industries. These frameworks inform the work of SFA’s ESG Disclosures Initiative as SFA members discuss what might be applicable to structured finance.

October 4, 2021

Watch Darlene Rosenkoetter, Vice President, Global Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy, from S&P Global Ratings provide an update at SFVegas 2021 on where the administration and regulators are heading with ESG.

October 4, 2021

Neil Hohmann, Managing Director and Head of Structured Products from BBH Investment Management, discusses assessing the different types of climate risk in securitization. John D’Elisa, Director, Societe Generale touches on defining what ESG means for issuers and investors.

November 20, 2020

Growing ESG in securitization: 81% of issuers incorporate ESG in their overall business operations, 73% within asset origination/underwriting practices, and 56% sponsoring or developing ESG-focused ABS/MBS programs. “Client Demand” is #1 factor motivating ESG for Institutional Investors in securitization. View the results and takeaways of SFA ESG Engagement survey.

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Learn More

Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance, or ESG, investing has now hit the mainstream as a consideration – and increasingly a key driver – of investment approaches and analysis for individuals and institutions alike. ESG investing has its roots in what began as ‘socially responsible’ investing in the 1960s, when investors began to screen their investment opportunities based on industry involvement such as tobacco production and sales or a company’s dealings in South Africa with respect to the apartheid regime. Today, there is broad acceptance and interest in ESG investing with the existence of targeted mutual funds, indices, and there is also a growing focus on data availability and analysis by ratings agencies and analytics firms.

 

ESG FACTORS

Environmental

  • Climate change
  • Natural resources
  • Sustainability

Social

  • Diversity
  • Human rights
  • Consumer protections

Governance

  • Corporate governance
  • Corporate behavior
  • Compensation structure

 

The above categories are high level and only scratch the surface of the ESG-relevant activities that investors – and issuers – may choose to focus on.

For our part, the Structured Finance Association has very recently launched an effort to assess how ESG investing and reporting can be applied and accessed in the securitization market. As a jumping off point the Association has begun work on identifying a framework for reporting on ESG factors within the assets of ABCP vehicles at the conduit level.

On December 5, 2019, SFA held an ESG Symposium that brought together nearly 200 engaged participants for a day-long conversation to promote ESG principles within the structured finance market.

SFA has published Key Takeaways from the Symposium which can be downloaded via the link below. Additionally, some of the slides that were presented by our guest speakers are available below.

 

SFA ESG Symposium: Key Takeaways

 

Below please find slides from some of the presenters:

The symposium encouraged important dialogue among a broad range of market participants and SFA looks forward to hosting additional ESG events in the future.

If you’re interested in joining SFA’s ESG Task Force, please email Jeff Gudiel at [email protected] 

  • According to Harvard Business Review, over $11.6 trillion of all professionally managed assets – $1 of every $4 invested in the United States – were under ESG investment strategies, a sharp 390% increase from 2010 when the amount was close to $3 trillion overall.
  • ESG is such an important consideration that major stock exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange have introduced their own sustainability guidelines, such as the Principles for Responsible Investment.

“ESG issues that have financial implications are increasingly part of business decisions, and investors who embrace these changes will be the industry leaders of the future. SFA is helping to define these issues and create the right frameworks that will make ESG data more transparent for investors.”

- Libby Bernick Head of Sustainability, DBRS Morningstar

News

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Industry News

September 29, 2023

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, ruled in favor of the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) 2022 rule, which allows retirement fund managers to consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in investment decisions. The judge rejected the states’ argument that the Administrative Procedure Act precluded the DOL’s proposed rule.

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Industry News

September 22, 2023

On September 14, Ginne Mae announced the launch of a social bonds label for single-family MBS. Separately, on September 18, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced the expansion of single-family social disclosures for Super and Mega MBS pools. 

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August 11, 2023

Bloomberg reports that on August 4, S&P announced that they would no longer publish an ESG score alongside a credit rating when rating debt instruments. The move comes in response to investor feedback, which indicated confusion between the credit rating and the ESG score.

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Contact

Elen Callahan

Elen Callahan

Head of Research & Education

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