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Europe Faces Worst Corporate Credit Supply Squeeze Since 2005

ECB purchases, corporate cash hoarding trims available bonds
Reduced availability raises issues with corporate debt pricing

By

Tasos Vossos and

September 20, 2021, 4:00 AM UTCUpdated onSeptember 20, 2021, 8:44 AM UTC

The amount of corporate bonds investors can trade in Europe is shrinking for the first time since 2005.

Despite a rush in deals by high-grade non-financial firms, there’s effectively a 21 billion-euro ($25 billion) drop in the investable pool of euro bonds because of calls, buybacks, upcoming redemptions and European Central Bank debt purchases, according to Bloomberg calculations.