Last year, international banks helped Belarus issue state bonds worth $1.25bn in London. In doing so, they came into potential conflict with their own ethical conduct policies and an increasingly sensitive investment climate, openDemocracy reports today.
Citi, Raiffeisen, Société Générale and Renaissance Capital assisted the Belarusian government in listing two eurobonds on the London Stock Exchange in summer 2020. All aside from Renaissance have published “environmental, social and governance” (ESG) policies that are supposed to guide their working practices and risk profiles, as investor and political pressure leads to more focus on climate and human impacts across the finance sector.
The stated purpose of the bonds was to refinance Belarus’ external public debt. The Belarusian Finance Ministry’s listing documents state that “none of the proceeds of the issue [...] will be used to fund activities or persons in violation of sanctions introduced by the EU, UK or the United States.”
