US primary markets saw an decrease in issuances to $21.7bn vs. $27.8bn in the prior week. IG issuances rose marginally to $15.2bn vs. $14.1bn in the prior week while HY issuances dropped to $5.3bn vs. $13.4bn in the prior week. The IG space was led by PepsiCo’s $3bn three-trancher and Kyndryl Holdings’ $2.4bn four-part deal. In the HY space, Frontier Communications raised $1bn followed by Sunoco’s $800mn issuance. In North America, there were a total of 30 upgrades and 19 downgrades combined across the three major rating agencies last week. LatAm saw $551mn in issuances vs. $2.2bn in the week prior with Banco de Credito Inversiones raising $500mn. In South America, there were 3 upgrades and downgrades each combined across the major rating agencies. EU Corporate G3 issuances saw a sharp rise to $27.2bn vs. $17.3bn in the week prior led by Lorca Telecom’s €3.1bn two-trancher, Heimstaden’s €2.75bn four-trancher and Rabobank’s €2.5bn deal. Across the European region, there were 24 upgrades and 15 downgrades across the three major rating agencies. GCC G3 issuances saw a rise to $4.1bn in issuances last week as compared to $300mn in the week before as the UAE issued its debut offshore bonds as a federation, raising $4bn via a three-part deal. Across the Middle East/Africa region, there were 2 upgrades and no downgrades across the three major rating agencies. APAC ex-Japan G3 issuances saw a slight decrease to $6.4bn as compared to only $7.35bn in the week before with Macquarie raising $3bn via a dual-trancher, Commonwealth Bank of Australia raising €1.25bn and Korea raising $1.3bn-equivalent via a dual-currency two-trancher. In the Asia ex-Japan region, there were 2 upgrades and 15 downgrades combined across the three major rating agencies last week, that included Fantasia’s downgrade by all three rating agencies after defaulting on its dollar bond due October 4.
The Week That Was (Oct 4th – 11th)
