Amy Kennedy Quoted by 9fin on Key ESG and LevFin Trends

For its article “Naughty nature, risky regs and downside damage – ESG and LevFin outlooks 2024,” 9fin quoted Akin special situations & private credit partner and environmental, social and governance (ESG) group co-leader Amy Kennedy. The article outlines 2024 predictions for key ESG trends in the leveraged finance space.

According to the article, new instruments, such as transition and blue bonds, look set to gain traction in 2024. Amy commented, “the market is comfortable using instruments they already know about. However, it’s a huge shift to go to new types of untested instruments. You don’t know how they’ll trade so there’s still a long way to go before they make it into the LevFin space.”

According to 9Fin, the EU regulation on deforestation-free products—set to come into effect by the end of 2024—will require EU companies to prove their supply chains are not contributing to the destruction of forests. Amy noted that the rate at which the act impacts companies remains uncertain, “the EU deforestation standard is going to take time to ripple through markets.”