‘Exotic’ Social Bonds Lure Investors Despite Ecuador Plunge

  • Social bond sales outpaced green debt sales in March, April
  • Surge in Ecuador’s social bond yield highlights remaining risk

A person wearing personal protective equipment gets on a bus in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on May 15.

Photographer: Jose Sanchez Lindao/AFP via Getty Images

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In January, Ecuador sold $400 million in government social bonds to help finance affordable houses.

Four months on, the value of the debt, which matures in 2035, has slid, pushing the yield to 7.6%, as the South American nation grapples with the economic fallout from the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.