The Italian Securities Commission has published a new Sustainable Finance Notebook examining the greenium in the domestic bond market. The study finds that sustainable bonds let Italian issuers, particularly non-financial corporates, raise funding at lower cost than comparable conventional bonds because investors accept lower yields for ESG-labelled debt. The analysis covers more than 3,300 bonds outstanding in June 2025 issued by Italian corporate and financial entities and is described as the first study focused on the domestic market. It estimates that, at issuance, the average yield on sustainable bonds is about 1 percentage point below that of traditional bonds, which stands at 4.1% when other characteristics are held constant, implying a funding-cost advantage of about 23% for issuers. The effect is stronger in the corporate segment, while it is less clear for bonds issued by financial intermediaries, partly because the link between the use of proceeds and the issuer's activity is less direct. The study also finds that the issuer's ESG rating matters, with a stronger sustainability profile helping to reduce funding costs even for conventional bond issues.
Italian Securities Commission (Consob)2026-05-27
Italian Securities Commission research finds sustainable bonds lower Italian issuers funding costs by about 1 percentage point especially for corporates
The Italian Securities Commission has published a Sustainable Finance Notebook finding that Italian issuers, especially non-financial corporates, can raise funding more cheaply with sustainable bonds, as investors accept lower yields for ESG-labelled debt. Based on more than 3,300 bonds outstanding in June 2025, the study estimates sustainable bond yields at issuance are on average 1 percentage point below comparable conventional bonds, implying a funding-cost advantage of about 23%, and notes that stronger issuer ESG ratings further reduce funding costs.