The dollar denominated new issue market is maintaining a brisk pace and much of the issuance is ending up in floating rate. This, more than anything, is keeping a lid on dollar swap spreads. At the end of the week, the 10 year mid-market was around 78bp over Treasuries while the five year mid-market was around 74bp. May has been a record-breaking month in the dollar debt markets. It was the biggest four week period ever, with US companies raising around $80bn in high grade debt. This was twice the volume of May 2000, and surpassed the previous record set in January this year.
June 01, 2001
