US primary market issuances saw nil issuances last week vs. a mere $2.4bn in the week prior. In North America, there were a total of 26 upgrades and 32 downgrades across the three major rating agencies last week. As per Lipper data, US IG funds saw $4.6bn in outflows in the week ended 31 August, a second week of outflows after three consecutive weeks of inflows. HY funds saw even larger outflows at over $5bn. Bloomberg notes that junk-bond funds have seen 11 inflows and 24 outflows so far in 2022. In the LatAm region, there were no new issuances last week vs. $340mn in the week prior. In South America, there were 2 upgrades and 4 downgrades across the major rating agencies. EU Corporate G3 issuances were almost flat at $21.7bn vs. $22bn one week prior – Santander raised €3.5bn via a two-trancher, followed by Siemens’ €3bn four-trancher and Allianz’s €1.25bn deal. Across the European region, there were 8 upgrades and 10 downgrades. The GCC G3 primary bond market saw $325mn in issuances vs. $368mn in the week prior – Saudi National Bank was the sole issuer last week. Across the Middle East/Africa region, there was 1 upgrade and no downgrades across the three major rating agencies. APAC ex-Japan G3 region issuances rose to $2.8bn vs. $1.7bn in the week prior with KDB leading the table by raising ~$1.95bn via a dual-currency deal followed by Chorus Ltd. raising $500mn. In the APAC region, there were 7 upgrades and 34 downgrades combined across the three rating agencies last week.
