Cash flood, not green dreams, leads to slump in oil bond sales

Banks earned record first-quarter fees from arranging green bond deals, while oil, gas and coal companies issued the lowest amount of debt in a decade.

But all isn’t as it seems.

The slump in fossil-fuel issuance isn’t necessarily a sign bankers have woken up to the seriousness of climate change. Instead, it reflects the fact that energy companies haven’t had to tap the bond markets for cash given the surge in commodity prices.

With oil above $100 a barrel and likely to stay there for the foreseeable future, “the time of borrowing to pay dividends and buy back shares is over,” said Fernando