Mexico Wins “Sustainable Sovereign Bond of the Year” Award

The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) announced that Mexico received two international awards for its efforts in promoting sustainable markets, as financial inclusion continues to be a major challenge for the country.

The SHCP announced that Environmental Finance awarded Mexico for its BONDES G bond and that the Climate Bond Initiative recognized the Mexican government for having the "Largest sustainable and social sovereign bond." The SHCP highlighted that the reasoning for the awards is due to Mexico’s management of its public debt, explained the ministry via a press release. 

Environmental Finance awarded Mexico’s BONDES G, the country’s first sustainable bond issued in the local Mexican market, as the "Sustainable Sovereign Bond of the Year." The bond aims to promote the development of the sustainable finance market with a strict focus on strategic management and innovation.  

The Climate Bond Initiative granted the second award, which recognizes governments and organizations around the world that promote the development of sustainable markets. The Mexican bond, which was issued in August 2022, was awarded as the "Largest Sustainable and Social Sovereign Bond." The bond is worth US$2.2 billion with a 10-year term and represents Mexico’s third sustainable market. 

The SHCP highlighted that Mexico has collected 22 international awards related to debt management in the last five years, as the ministry says that the country is well-prepared to mitigate challenges while imposing a vision of sustainable development. “This demonstrates the ability of the Government of Mexico to face the financial and economic challenges of the country, while committing itself to the fight against climate change and social inequalities,” explains SHCP. 

“Mexico became one of the first countries globally to issue sustainable government debt instruments referenced to the new risk-free reference rates. This new market will be one of the largest in Latin America and will be used for actions and projects to combat social inequalities and climate change,” explains SHCP. 

Vladimiro de la Mora, President, American Chamber of Commerce, explained that seven out of every 10 people between the ages of 18 and 70 had at least one savings account, credit card, insurance product or a retirement savings account (Afore) in 2021, according to INEGI. However, only 6% have medical insurance, 3% personal credit and 1% an investment fund, de la Mora explained. Financial inclusion has also failed to be homogeneous between women and men, as 74% of men had at least one financial product against 62% of women, as reported by MBN.