The Debt Market's $200 Billion Gorilla Wakes Up
Volkswagen came back to bonds in a big way this year. What it does next under Treasurer Joerg Boche will have huge implications for European credit.
Is this the most important person in Europe's corporate bond markets?
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergJoerg Boche is arguably the most important person in Europe’s corporate debt market right now (with apologies to Mario Draghi). As the group head of treasury at Volkswagen AG, his decisions on the company’s funding are critical not just to the German autos giant but to European corporate credit spreads as a whole. VW had to rein in its bond issues after the Dieselgate scandal, but this year it’s been back with a vengeance. As with General Electric Co in the U.S., where this 800-pound gorilla goes so does Europe.
With 82 billion euros ($93.6 billion) of bonds to manage, and about 175 billion euros ($200 billion) of total debt, Boche’s role would be challenging at the best of times. But his company’s head of compliance has warned that 2019 will be VW’s “most difficult year ever.” That takes things to another level.