governments, non-profits and private companies can
benefit from pooled bond financing too. With this tool, a
sponsor sells an issue of bonds, the proceeds from which
are used by a number of state or local jurisdictions, or
other tax-exempt organizations. The goal is usually to
help smaller borrowers (e.g., small towns) get access to
capital with lower costs than they might be able to on
their own, given their credit ratings. The bond program
features a common debt service reserve fund, which is
funded from proceeds from each bond sale and kept at a
level equal to 5% of the principal amounts on each indi-
vidual loan. The common debt service reserve fund is
meant to enhance the credit strength of the program so
that it is greater than the credit of individual borrowers.
Created in 1994, the Municipal Finance Company
(MUFIS) was a part of a USAID municipal infrastruc-
ture finance program. The program was designed to
catalyze the integration of municipal infrastructure fi-
nance in capital and financial markets where munici-
palities and townships lacked sufficient funds and
knowledge of how to build capital for projects. MUFIS
served as a joint stock company where shares in MUFIS
were owned by the Ministry of France (49%), the Czech
and Moravian Guaranty and Development Bank (49%),World Bank has issued over $4.5 billion in green bonds.
The U.S. federal government seeded a green bond fund
with $2 billion in 2004 legislation. Sweden was the first
in the Nordic region to issue green bonds. With the issu-
ance of a 500 million (in Swedish krona) green bond in
the fall of 2013, Gothenburg, Sweden became a pioneer
in the Nordic region for using the green bond financial
framework, developed by Nordic financial group Skan-
dinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) together with the
World Bank and other Swedish investors. SEB facili-
tated the issuance. According to SEB, the issuance is a
breakthrough in the Nordics, where interest in green
bonds continues to grow among investors. The green
bonds offer the same yield as other investments with
similar conditions, but at the same time these bonds
contribute to a better environment and higher aware-
ness of climate-related challenges and solutions. The
money raised is used to support various environmental
projects on public transport, water management, en-
ergy and waste management.
Program Pool Fund: Czech Republic
Pooled bond financing is another option that helps gen-
erate new capital. Pre-dominantly for state and local