Barclays latest to eye complex debt-swap deals

Financial innovation: An elephant steps out of the forest in Gabon’s Pongara National Park. Bank of America Corp arranged its first debt-for-nature swap with a US$500mil deal for the country last month. — AP

London: Barclays Plc is looking into doing deals in a complex corner of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) debt market that was built by Credit Suisse and is now drawing interest from a string of global banks since the Swiss lender’s takeover by UBS Group AG.

The market for debt-for-nature swaps, which analysts at Barclays have estimated has the potential to grow to US$800bil, has so far been dominated by Credit Suisse. Last month, however, Bank of America Corp jumped into the market by arranging its first debt-for-nature swap, with a US$500mil deal for Gabon.