The $785 Billion Junk-Bond Maturity Wall Has Never Been So Close

  • World’s riskiest borrowers in a race against time to refinance
  • Over 40% of bonds coming due were issued during the pandemic
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The world’s riskiest borrowers are starting to run out of easy-money era financing and feeling the pinch as they return to a tougher market shadowed by aggressive central banks.

Junk-rated companies staring down a $785 billion maturity wall are in a race against time to replace debt that they secured when major central banks across the world slashed rates and boosted quantitative easing programs to keep economies afloat in 2020. On average, these companies now have 4.7 years to put fresh financing in place, the least amount of time ever, according to a Bloomberg global index.