Issues

Political and economic uncertainty, quantitative tightening and new supply expectations weighed on the SSA sector in 2024, pushing spreads wider versus swaps throughout much of the year. With Donald Trump returning to the White House and questions over France and Germany’s political and economic direction, the coming year is unlikely to be smooth sailing for SSA issuers. To discuss the main trends and developments this year and their expectations for 2025, GlobalCapital convened a roundtable of leading SSA borrowers and an investor involved in this critical market

Although the Swiss franc bond market is on track for its best year since 2014, falling interest rates caused a sharp drop in issuance in the second half of 2024. Widening spreads made the market harder to navigate and, as Sophie Astles writes, the road ahead could be rocky

Sovereign, supranational and agency issuers made a rapid start to funding in 2024, which proved to be a year when being flexible enough to maximise investor demand proved invaluable. Among the best deals this year are some that captured the moment but also some that sought to do something completely new altogether

The higher the yield, the hotter the bid — or at least that is how it appeared for most of the year in the financial institution bond market. Investors latched on to the Greek FIG revival, duration and regulatory capital in a bid to boost their returns, which some issuers exploited deftly

Investment grade companies had one overarching bond market strategy this year: get everything done before November’s US election. The poll may have passed smoothly, but it was preceded by a market where borrowers were willing to take risks and push for ambitious deals. GlobalCapital recognises below the issuers that exemplified that courage and determination

The UK’s borrowing need over the next year has increased materially, creating a challenge and opportunity for the new CEO of the Debt Management Office to calibrate the best funding channels to deliver cost-effective financing. To discuss how it plans to manage this, together with the changing dynamics of the Gilt market, innovation and risks, GlobalCapital convened a roundtable with the DMO, market makers and investors to explore and interrogate these areas.

Company brings its bank group up to 22

€19bn of Cédulas will mature next year — but not all will be refinanced

Spread between riskier and higher rated corporate debt tipped to widen for first time in years

Volumes on international markets will drop after a heavy two years

Sole bookrunner Morgan Stanley gets deal multiple times covered

BBC claimed UK water company inflated its accounts by £1.7bn