TOYOTA Motor Credit Corporation launched its first ever global bond this week in an attempt to reset its trading level for the institutional investor base. The launch comes barely a month after its spreads had ballooned in the secondary market -- and some bankers felt that the issuer, one of the top corporate credits in the international bond market, had sold itself short. TMCC spreads have been badly hit by the correction since July. Although its operations are purely based in the US, the auto finance company's Japanese parentage had caused its spreads to widen to levels more akin to single-A issuers such as GMAC and Ford than Aa1/AAA rated TMCC.
November 13, 1998