Bonds
Corporate Bond Rush Is Breaking Down a Maturity Wall That Everyone Feared
- Pace of corporate bond supply is running at historic highs
- Firms have been tapping hot market to push back maturities
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Less than a year ago, investors were gaming out what would happen when billions of dollars of bonds reached maturity dates, leaving borrowers potentially crushed by costly refinancings. Now, those fears are fizzling away, with companies rushing to sell debt to a buoyant market.
The implied cost of refinancing junk-rated bonds is now at its lowest since May 2022, based on global corporate bond indexes compiled by Bloomberg. For investment-grade firms, it’s the cheapest since the summer of 2022, when a series of central bank interest rate hikes was just beginning. Those falling costs have spurred a wave of corporate bond sales and, in turn, pushed back the so-called maturity wall of debt coming due.