FIG issuers consolidate role in Japan’s capital markets

FIG issuers continue to dominate the Samurai landscape – and if anything, their dominance is growing. Japanese investors trust international banks and are happy to buy their paper in order to secure a little more yield in an environment where returns are scarce; banks themselves gain competitive funding and useful diversification. An improvement in the basis swap has meant that banks don’t need to compromise on price in order to achieve a varied order book – but will there come a time when investors say enough is enough and start demanding some yield again?