Investment-Grade Bond Issuance Fell to Zero ahead of Labor Day
August recap: Deals overview
US corporates were the highest issuers of high-grade bonds in August 2015, making up 35.4% of all issues. Yankee bond issuers came in second with issuance worth $17.1 billion, or 26.9% of total issuance. Meanwhile, US financials accounted for 22.3% of all issues.
The month ended August 2015 brought the year-to-date issuance volume of corporate high-grade bonds to $1.095 trillion.
Issuance by high-grade corporates was part of the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Inv (VBMFX). Treasuries—the other high-grade bond category—are tracked by mutual funds like the PIMCO Total Return A (PTTAX).
Top issuers in August 2015
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Celgene Corporation (CELG) issued bonds worth $8.0 billion on August 3. It’s a global biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of products for the treatment of cancer and other severe, immune, inflammatory conditions.
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HSBC USA (HSBC), through its subsidiaries, provides commercial and consumer banking services. It issued bonds worth $2.7 billion on August 4, making it the second-highest issuer of high-grade bonds.
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ING Bank NV (ING) issued bonds worth $2.5 billion on August 10. ING is a global financial institution offering banking services to individuals, families, small businesses, large corporations, institutions, and governments.
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McGraw Hill Financial (MHFI) issued bonds worth $2.0 billion on August 13. McGraw Hill Financial is a leader in credit ratings, benchmarks, and analytics for the global capital and commodity markets.
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BNP Paribas (BNPQY) issued bonds worth $1.5 billion on August 12. BNP Paribas is headquartered in Paris. It provides commercial and retail banking services to its clients. It has a network of 150 business centers in 23 European countries.
In the next part of this series, we’ll look at investment-grade bond fund flows.
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