US primary market issuances dropped for another week to $2bn vs. $2.3bn in the week prior. IG issuances fell to $1bn vs. $1.9bn in the prior week. HY issuances were marginally higher at $527mn vs. $400mn in the prior week. The IG space saw only one deal, by Verizon worth $1bn. In the HY space, College Holdings II raised $500mn. In North America, there were a total of 35 upgrades and 16 downgrades combined across the three major rating agencies last week. LatAm saw $133mn in issuance last week vs. $168mn in the week before with Banco de Credito e Inversiones being the sole issuer. EU Corporate G3 issuances dropped slightly to $19.9bn vs. $21.2bn in the week prior led by Allianz’s ~$2.4bn dual-currency offering and Skandinaviska Enskilda’s $1.27bn dual-trancher. Across the European region, there were 25 upgrades and 10 downgrades across the three major rating agencies. GCC G3 issuances stood at $600mn vs. $85mn in the week before with AUB Sukuk Ltd. being the lone issuer. Across the Middle East/Africa region, there were no upgrades or downgrades across the three major rating agencies. APAC ex-Japan G3 issuances rose to $6.84bn vs. $2.6bn in the prior week – State Grid Overseas Investments raised $1.55bn via a dual-currency EUR/USD offering followed by AIA Group’s €750mn issuance, Adani Green Energy’s $750mn deal and Axis Bank’s $600mn PerpNC5 AT1 sustainable bond issue, the first ever sustainable issuance from an Indian bank. In the Asia ex-Japan region, there were 5 upgrades and 20 downgrades combined across the three major rating agencies last week.
