Labelled debt volumes climbed in Q1 2026
Labelled bond issuance reached $322 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 14% from $283 billion in Q1 2025. The rise was accompanied by a greater concentration of large issues: borrowers with at least $2 billion equivalent in first-quarter issuance represented 55% of total volumes, versus 45% a year earlier.
Among issuers, several public agencies accounted for outsized activity. Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau and Caisse d'Amortissement de la Dette Sociale, together with the Inter-American Development Bank, were highlighted as particularly active during the quarter.
Green, sustainability and social bond breakdown
Green bonds represented the largest segment of labelled issuance, comprising 53% of the total at $170 billion, up 19% from $142 billion in Q1 2025. Within green issuance, financial institutions contributed 29% and corporates 28%. Sovereign borrowers supplied 24% of green volumes, including significant sovereign sales: the United Kingdom at A36.25 billion, Germany at A36.5 billion, Italy at A35.0 billion and Austria at A34 billion.
Sustainability bonds totaled $90 billion, representing 28% of first-quarter labelled issuance and increasing 1.8% from the prior-year period. Social bonds rose 27% to $53 billion from $42 billion, a move noted as being driven primarily by an additional $10.6 billion of issuance from government agencies.
Shifts in issuer types and regional distribution
Government agency issuance nearly doubled year-on-year, rising from $45 billion in Q1 2025 to $82 billion in Q1 2026. Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau and Caisse d'Amortissement de la Dette Sociale together accounted for almost $50 billion of that agency supply. Sovereign issuance increased by $20 billion to $56 billion, while supranational issuance declined by $34 billion to $48 billion.
Currency shares also shifted. The euro accounted for 48% of labelled issuance in Q1 2026, up from 47% a year earlier. The U.S. dollar's share fell to 16% from 21%. The pound sterling rose to 8% from 7%, and the Chinese yuan increased to 6% from 4%.
Other segments experienced movement: sustainability-linked bond issuance fell to $5.5 billion from $8.2 billion, while labelled issuance in the United States rose to $3.1 billion from $2.1 billion in the same period the year before.
These figures indicate a quarter in which green debt dominated labelled supply, agency borrowers expanded their presence, and currency composition of issuance tilted further toward the euro and yuan.