On June 2, 2023, General Resolution 963/23 (the Resolution) issued by the National Securities and Exchange Commission (Comisión Nacional de Valores or CNV for its Spanish acronym) was published in the Official Gazette. The Resolution introduces important updates to the existing "Guidelines for the Issuance of Social, Green, and Sustainable Negotiable Securities in Argentina" issued by the CNV.

The key modifications outlined in the Resolution are as follows:

• Inclusion of negotiable securities focused on enhancing environmental, social, or governance (ESG) metrics of the issuers, named sustainability-linked bonds.
• Introduction of negotiable securities with specific thematic labels, including gender bonds, blue bonds, orange bonds, and transition bonds.
  Gender bonds are defined as social bonds exclusively allocated to funding activities or projects promoting gender diversity, equity, and inclusion. Blue bonds, on the other hand, are dedicated to financing activities or projects related to the conservation, protection, and restoration of aquatic ecosystems. Orange bonds serve the purpose of funding creative and/or cultural projects or activities, while transition bonds are exclusively designed to finance the issuer's climate transition strategy and emission reduction.
  These bonds can be structured as social, sustainable, or sustainability-linked instruments. Given their nature as negotiable securities aimed at financing activities or projects with specific environmental and/or social impact, the Guidelines recommend the analog application of the Green Bond Principles (GBP), Social Bond Principles (SBP), and Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles (SLBP) to ensure transparency and disclosure of relevant information.
• In the case of financial trusts established under the regime of Solidarity Financial Trusts (“Fideicomisos Financieros Solidarios”), the Guidelines mandate the submission of an external review report to verify the expected social impact.
• Amendments have been made to the regime applicable to Mutual Funds with a specific focus on negotiable securities with ESG impact (ESG Mutual Funds). Particularly, the initially allowed threshold of 30% for eligible assets from non-certified Small and Medium Enterprises (PyMEs for its Spanish acronym) has been removed as an eligible investment for these funds”.
  In summary, this initiative seeks to promote the financing of projects with environmental and social impact within the capital market, thus aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals and contributing to the development of a sustainable economy.