Global Bond Issuance Falls 16% on Year; Investment-Grade Corporate Debt Sales Jump 60%

Global bond issuance fell 16% last week from a year earlier.

Goldman Sachs said on August 17 that global bond sales declined 16% from the same period last year. Even so, cumulative issuance since the start of the year remained 9% above year-earlier levels.

By segment, investment-grade corporate bond issuance rose 60%, while high-yield bond sales fell 41%. Leveraged loan issuance plunged 88%. Financial-sector bond issuance increased 38%, and structured-finance issuance dropped 64%.

Meanwhile, assets in exchange-traded funds tracking S&P and MSCI indexes increased 32% and 36%, respectively.