¿Bonos verdes o sociales? Los grandes bancos reparten sus preferencias

Spanish banks Santander, BBVA, Sabadell, and CaixaBank are among the most active in the global market for sustainable debt. As of the current year, their ESG bonds (environmental, social, and governance) total around 5,500 million euros, with projections reaching 10,000 million euros if 2025 emissions are included. However, green bonds lead the pack.

CaixaBank is the only bank among the four with a significant activity in social bonds. Santander and BBVA have refrained from issuing social bonds, while Sabadell has only one. Santander has three green bonds totaling 3,000 million euros and plans to renew them as they mature, but hasn't ventured into social debt. BBVA made its first social bond in 2020 for pandemic mitigation but has no new issuances.

Sabadell has nearly 3,500 million euros in green bonds and no social ones. CaixaBank is the exception, having issued its first social bond in 2019 and making six more since then, totaling about 11,750 million euros in sustainable debt (social and green). This uniqueness isn't due to their credit profile, as all four banks have a sizable portfolio of loans eligible for social bonds.

However, the absence of clear guidelines for the placement of social bonds and potential reputational risks from social washing deter some banks from issuing them.