Sustainable corporate loans: A systematic literature review and future research agenda

This paper presents a systematic literature review of sustainable corporate loans (SCLs), including green loans and sustainability-linked loans, to synthesise current academic knowledge and outline future research directions. Using a PRISMA protocol and a bibliometric analysis of 102 peer-reviewed articles published in AJG-ranked journals (3 and above) between January 2009 and May 2025, the review examines publication trends, theoretical perspectives, methodological approaches, thematic patterns and research gaps. The literature shows rapid growth after 2020, with substantial regional concentration in China, the United States and Europe. Stakeholder theory is the most frequently invoked explicit theoretical lens, although many studies do not anchor their analysis in a clearly stated theory. Quantitative designs prevail, but longitudinal, mixed-method and experimental approaches remain scarce. Four main themes emerge: borrower ESG and financial outcomes, lender incentives and risk management, loan contract features, and macroeconomic implications. Key gaps relate to causal identification, ESG metric standardisation and borrower–lender dynamics in emerging markets.