U.S. Business Debt Soars by Record on Bond Issuance, Loans

U.S. nonfinancial business debt soared in the first quarter by the most in records back to 1952, as bank loans and corporate bond issuance jumped in companies’ all-out effort to stay liquid during the coronavirus pandemic.

Firms boosted debt by $754.8 billion, or at an 18.8% annualized rate, in the first quarter to a total outstanding $16.8 trillion that surpassed the level of household borrowing, according to a Federal Reserve report out Thursday.