United States ESG & the Muni Market 2023: A New Frontier in ESG Politics

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Jan 10, 2024, 10:30 ET

DUBLIN, Jan. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "U.S ESG & the Muni Market 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in the municipal market have garnered significant attention, both positive and negative, in the past five years. Some market participants see it as an opportunity for industry growth in the U.S. and abroad. Indeed, ESG bond issuance has grown even as overall municipal issuance has dropped precipitously. Others see ESG as a costly and unnecessary additional issuer disclosure burden with little pricing benefit for state and local governments that say the debt they issue is inherently ESG.

Several politicians and other government officials assert ESG is part of a "woke" agenda in the financial markets. Some states have written legislation and enacted laws prohibiting the use of ESG in the public finance markets, while others have barred financial institutions from participating in the municipal market due to their stance on the firearm and/or fossil fuel industries.

This report updates industry sentiment from an October 2021 report, Focusing the ESG Lens on Munis, by asking similar questions two years later. New responses reflect some of the changes to the marketplace itself, but it remains a constant that incorporating ESG into the municipal industry is complex. Opinions on how or whether to take part vary to a large degree depending on the vantage point from where that participant sits in the market or on the political spectrum.

As is typical when any change is introduced into the muni space, the way various participants react to potential alterations is made more difficult to digest by the disparate nature of this $4 trillion, 55,000-issuer geographically and culturally diverse marketplace. Differences in sentiment around ESG among the buy-side, sell-side and issuer respondents create a textured view of an industry that is not monolithic; many of their viewpoints appear in this report. One thing is clear: ESG is as complex a topic as the muni market.

Key Topics Covered:

Key findings
Research methodology
ESG in a troubled muni landscape
ESG remains important for munis
Still a growth factor
'E' matters more than 'S' or 'G'
Not necessarily seeking guidance
Disclosure demands get complicated
A new frontier in ESG politics
Clear desire for a universal language
Conclusions

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/aiyi5y

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SOURCE Research and Markets