SMEs and Sustainable Finance in the MARF

The Alternative Fixed Income Market (MARF) plays a key role by facilitating access to capital markets for smaller companies and enabling sustainability to translate into tangible financial advantages.

For many years, sustainable finance has been primarily associated with large corporations. However, the current context, shaped by competitiveness, economic resilience, and the energy transition, is also opening up new opportunities for medium and small companies, which are beginning to see sustainability as a genuine lever for accessing financing, driving growth, and creating value.

In this environment, market infrastructures such as the Alternative Fixed Income Market (MARF) play a critical role by enabling smaller companies to access capital markets and turning sustainability into concrete financial benefits.

Created in 2013 by BME, MARF was established with the aim of broadening financing sources for Spanish companies, particularly those without direct access to traditional markets. Twelve years on, the results are clearly positive: more than 160 companies have accessed fixed income markets for the first time through MARF, with outstanding debt exceeding €10 billion, the highest level since its inception.

Within this growth, sustainability-linked instruments have gained increasing prominence. Green bonds, sustainable bonds, and issuances linked to ESG objectives have become an increasingly common alternative for companies, including medium and small companies. Currently, 25 companies have incorporated sustainability criteria into their MARF issuances, with significant volumes across both commercial paper programs and medium- to long-term bond issuances.

The experience of Grupo AMPER clearly illustrates how sustainability can be coherently integrated into the financial strategy of a listed mid-cap. After initially using commercial paper programs for short-term financing, the company decided to move toward a more stable debt structure through the issuance of a sustainability-linked bond.

This decision was driven by two key factors. On the one hand, the very nature of AMPER’s business model focused on energy management and storage technologies, defense, and engineering is closely aligned with sustainability and security challenges. On the other hand, there was clear demand from the investment market, which showed a growing preference for this type of sustainable issuance.

The result was a €75 million issuance, fully subscribed, with an impact that went beyond financing alone. The process required the company to strengthen its internal structure, consolidate its sustainability strategy, establish a dedicated committee, and integrate ESG criteria into risk and opportunity management. All of this contributed to greater organizational maturity and improved perception among investors and clients.

Far from being a purely reputational exercise, sustainability has become a key operational factor. In AMPER’s case, it is embedded in day-to-day operations, supply chain management, and supplier certification processes, enabling better risk management and the transformation of risks into opportunities.

From a financial perspective, this integration translates into greater attractiveness for institutional investors, improved competitive positioning, and, over the medium to long term, a stronger market valuation. When managed effectively, sustainability reinforces corporate resilience and market confidence.

Beyond providing a trading infrastructure, MARF acts as a catalyst for best practices in sustainable finance. Through participation in international initiatives, the development of dedicated segments for sustainable issuances, the dissemination of information and metrics, and the promotion of educational activities, the market helps improve transparency and enables medium and small companies to approach sustainable financing in a gradual and accessible way.

Sustainability is no longer just a regulatory requirement or a domain reserved for large companies. For medium and small companies, it represents a real opportunity to access new investors, diversify funding sources, and strengthen competitiveness in an increasingly demanding environment.

Cases such as AMPER demonstrate that integrating sustainability into financial strategy is not only feasible but can also generate positive impacts on operations, access to capital, and long-term value creation. The challenge now lies in continuing to bring these instruments closer to the broader business community and consolidating an ecosystem where sustainability and growth go hand in hand.