•    France is the third largest green bond market globally and the largest in Europe with more than €37 billion in cumulative issuance since 2012, according to the Climate Bonds Initiative. The French green bond market has seen its volume double from 2016. Non-financial corporate issuers accounted for about half the growth, particularly in the energy sector. Climate Bonds Initiative expects municipalities, departments and regions to drive further expansion of the market in 2018. France has also led the way in terms of green bond issuance best practice, in particular the use of external reviews, over €3 billion of certified climate bonds and loans and a high quality annual reporting, the report adds.  â€¢    Venture capital-backed fintech firms raised a record US$5.4 billion in the first quarter of this year according to CB Insights, reports Finextra. The region with the largest quarterly spike was Asia, on the back of four US$100 million plus investments.