Tracking the pulse of sustainable finance: GSSS bond trends at Euroclear

As a cross-border Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI), Euroclear enables and facilitates the connection of issuers and investors around the world through activities such as cross-border payments, settlements and collateral management. 

Our mission is to support and enable a sustainable financial marketplace, while limiting our impact on the environment, providing an equitable and inclusive workplace and conducting business in an ethical and responsible way.

Did you know that in the first half of 2026, over EUR 233 billion in Green, Social, Sustainability and Sustainability-linked (GSSS) bonds were issued through Euroclear Bank?

By the end of the same period, EUR 1.84 trillion in GSSS bonds were held under Euroclear Bank’s custody.

After the slowdown in growth in 2025, the market resumed its expansion in the first half of 2026, suggesting renewed interest in sustainability-labelled products.

The value of GSSS bonds issued through Euroclear Bank grew by 50% in H1 2026 compared with H1 2025, a significant increase signalling renewed acceleration in market growth. This growth was mainly driven by green bond issuance, which increased by 85% in H1 2026 compared with H1 2025, nearly doubling. In parallel, social and sustainability bonds also regained momentum, growing by 28% and 24%, respectively, compared with the same period last year. By contrast, sustainability-linked bond issuance continued its decline, falling by 20%.

An increase in value of GSSS bonds under custody

The value of GSSS bonds under custody increased by 10%, amounting to 1.84 trillion by the end of June 2026.

Growth across GSSS bond classes

All GSSS bond classes under custody are growing. Sustainability bonds have grown the most in H1 2026 with 15% increase in comparison with 2025.

Green bonds remain the dominant class of GSSS bonds

Green bonds constitute over half of the GSSS bond under custody, with sustainability bonds following in quantity. 

GSSS bonds by issuance jurisdiction: Over 50% in Eurobond

Over half of the GSSS bonds under Euroclear Bank’s custody were issued through the international structure, i.e. Eurobond, followed by issuances under French and U.S. jurisdictions, each accounting for approximately 10% of the assets.

Top 5 issuer types: GSSS bonds under custody are increasing across various issuer categories

GSSS bonds under custody continued to rise across all the issuer categories. GSSS bonds issued by supranational still took the lead in terms of depot value. GSSS bonds issued by debt agencies grew the most with a 25% increase, followed by sovereigns and other financial institutions which increased both by roughly 17% in H1 2026. The latter even moved into the top five, overtaking corporate bonds, whose issuance remained flat.

5 currencies: EUR, USD and GBP taking the lead

GSSS bonds per currency

The euro remained by far the leading currency for GSSS bonds under Euroclear Bank’s custody, followed by US dollar and British pound. GSSS bonds denominated in currencies such as Kenyan and Ugandan shillings have nearly or more than doubled in H1 2026 – increasing by 131% and 90%. While Columbian peso and Hong Kong dollar have highest pace of growth amongst currencies with above € 1 billion under custody in Euroclear Bank – increasing by 51% and 40%.

Top 15 currencies in 2025: EUR, USD, GBP, SEK, AUD, PEN, NOK, MXN, HKD, CNY, CAD, INR, DKK, CLP and NZD.

Notably, CNY and HKD entered the top 10 currencies.  

GSSS bonds under custody by issuer region: over 70% from European issuers