Cases / Debt-for-nature swap · Bahamas · 2024
Bahamas debt-for-nature swap
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
In November 2024 the Bahamas took part in a US$300 million debt-for-nature transaction arranged by Standard Chartered, with a partial guarantee from the Inter-American Development Bank and US$30 million of insurance from AXA XL. The Nature Conservancy was a named participant.
US$300 millionSize of the Bahamas transaction
November 2024, as listed in the sources reviewed.
November 2024, as listed in the sources reviewed.
Status As of the latest source reviewed (November 2024): the US$300 million transaction was announced; the sources reviewed give no later outcome.
What?
A US$300 million debt-for-nature transaction for the Bahamas in November 2024.
Where?
The Bahamas.
When?
November 2024.
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
None on recordHarmed
None on recordWhy?
The sources reviewed do not state the Bahamas government's stated reasons for the transaction.
How?
Standard Chartered arranged the transaction, with an IDB partial guarantee, Builders Vision US$70 million, AXA XL US$30 million insurance and TNC involved.
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who
What happened
The record, in order.
In November 2024 the Bahamas concluded a debt-for-nature transaction of US$300 million. The sources reviewed name Standard Chartered as the arranging bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as provider of a partial guarantee, and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) as the conservation organisation involved.
The sources reviewed list two further components: US$70 million from Builders Vision and US$30 million in insurance from AXA XL. One report states that the deal "includes $30 million in insurance from Axa XL".
Among the swaps reviewed, the Bahamas deal is listed alongside operations in Ecuador (Amazon, December 2024) and El Salvador (October 2024). The sources reviewed do not give the terms of the Bahamas transaction beyond the figures above.
- 2024November: US$300 million Bahamas debt-for-nature transaction, with Standard Chartered, IDB, AXA XL and TNC named
What was said
Claims, in the words of those who made them.
“The deal includes $30 million in insurance from Axa XL.”
How it looked
What was shown, beside what was recorded.
Shown
Recorded
- Standard Chartered is listed as the arranger of the Bahamas transaction of November 2024, US$300 million.
- IDB provided a partial guarantee; Builders Vision US$70 million; AXA XL US$30 million insurance.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
- 2024No policy found$30m US$30 million (millions)AXA XL → The Bahamas transaction (insured party not stated in the sources reviewed)
AXA XL is listed as providing US$30 million in insurance as part of the November 2024 deal. One Stop ESG
What nature saw
Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
Conservation funding committed
Reported, not verified
One report gives more than US$120 million; the figure is not tied to a primary document in the sources reviewed.
Independent ecological evaluation
None found
No source reviewed reports one.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Insurers
- Unclear AXA XL: no decision on record.
Figures
- Insufficient Conservation funding: Reported figure, not independently verified.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: more than US$120 million of conservation funding from the Bahamas transaction.
- None on record Fees and returns to the arranger, insurer and other participants: no source reviewed states them.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Bahamas unlocks $124 million for ocean protection through debt swapOne Stop ESG · 2024-11
Communities and civil society
- The Bahamas Nature Bond case studyThe Nature Conservancy ·
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
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