Sustainable finance
Social Loan
Definition
A social loan is a loan instrument whose proceeds are exclusively applied to finance or refinance eligible social projects — affordable housing, access to essential services, employment generation, food security or socio-economic advancement for target populations — aligned with the four core components of the LMA/ICMA Social Loan Principles: use of proceeds, project evaluation and selection, management of proceeds, and reporting.
References
This reference provides supporting context for how “Social Loan” is defined and used.
Source imported for editorial provenance.
Overview
How it is used
The instrument structures lending by development banks, social housing providers, microfinance funders and corporates raising finance for social programmes; it sits alongside social bonds in the labelled debt family.
Why it matters
Social loans extend the labelled-finance revolution beyond climate, directing capital at the people-focused half of sustainability with the same discipline.