European syndicated issuance totaled almost €71 billion across 70 tranches. Financial institutions, meaning banks and insurers, raised about €28 billion. Sovereign, supranational and agency borrowers, often abbreviated as SSA and including governments and government-related entities, printed roughly €23 billion. Corporate issuance reached around €19 billion. Nearly 97% of supply was investment grade and almost all deals were fixed rate. The euro accounted for 85.6% of issuance, sterling for 13%, and US dollars just over 1%. February volume now stands near €132 billion, and year-to-date issuance is around €495 billion, about 6% above last year. Roughly 47% of new investment-grade bonds are trading at or tighter than launch levels, suggesting stable demand in secondary markets.
US primary issuance reached roughly $59 billion during the week, including about $40 billion of investment-grade bonds and around $14 to $15 billion of high-yield bonds, meaning lower-rated issuers that pay higher coupons. Investment-grade bond funds saw inflows of roughly $4 billion, continuing strong demand from investors. High-yield funds experienced modest outflows. These flows remain an important technical support for the primary market.
Alphabet raised approximately $32 billion across US dollar, sterling and Swiss franc markets, including a rare 100-year sterling bond. A century bond means investors are lending for 100 years, reflecting strong confidence in long-term credit quality. The transaction was heavily oversubscribed and highlights both strong investor appetite for high-quality technology issuers and the significant capital required to finance artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Large technology companies, often called hyperscalers because of their massive cloud infrastructure, are increasing borrowing to fund AI expansion. This is driving higher activity in credit default swaps, or CDS, which are financial contracts that function like insurance against a company defaulting on its debt. Outstanding CDS exposure linked to Alphabet stands near $895 million and Meta around $687 million. Analysts expect hyperscaler borrowing to reach roughly $400 billion this year compared with about $165 billion last year. While balance sheets remain relatively strong, investors are increasingly hedging against potential pressure from large capital expenditures.
Banks are demanding higher compensation to trade bonds linked to private credit funds as exposure to software companies becomes more concentrated in the speculative-grade market. Speculative grade refers to lower-rated issuers with higher default risk. Some strategists argue that software represents one of the largest concentration risks in high-yield markets, especially as artificial intelligence could disrupt traditional business models in ways not yet fully reflected in credit spreads.
Brazilian corporate bonds experienced sharp volatility. CSN’s dollar bonds fell 5 to 8 points across the curve and declined roughly 25% over the week. Raizen faced multi-notch rating downgrades, pushing its bonds to distressed levels and triggering broader concern that Brazilian corporate risk premiums may have been too low. The episode highlighted how quickly investor sentiment can shift in emerging markets when liquidity concerns rise.
The Dominican Republic raised about $2.75 billion across 8-year and 12-year bonds at yields near 5.75% and 6.15%, pricing inside initial guidance and reflecting continued demand for BB-rated sovereign risk. The Democratic Republic of Congo also issued a debut 7-year bond at a yield near 11.6%, demonstrating that even higher-risk frontier markets can access capital when global demand for yield remains supportive.
Intesa Sanpaolo issued €1.25 billion in two perpetual AT1 bonds. AT1, which stands for Additional Tier 1, refers to a type of bank capital instrument designed to absorb losses in times of stress and strengthen regulatory capital. The bonds priced inside guidance and order books exceeded €3.9 billion, suggesting continued investor appetite for European bank capital instruments.
Lumen completed the sale of its fiber-to-home business to AT&T for around $5.8 billion and used proceeds to reduce debt, leading to a credit rating upgrade. Michaels is marketing roughly $4.9 billion of new debt to refinance its capital structure. The company’s 2029 bonds, which traded deeply distressed last year, have recovered close to par following improved operating performance and refinancing efforts.
China Vanke’s dollar bonds rallied after reports that local authorities are considering a support package of roughly $11 to $12 billion to stabilize the developer. China’s property sector remains closely watched by global credit investors due to its systemic importance and past episodes of stress.
Paramount enhanced its $30 per share proposal for Warner Bros. Discovery by adding financial incentives, including a quarterly ticking fee if the deal is delayed and additional protections around breakup fees. Despite competing bids and corporate maneuvering, bonds of both companies traded relatively stable during the week.
A creditor committee representing holders of defaulted Venezuelan sovereign bonds and PDVSA bonds appointed a financial adviser to prepare for potential restructuring negotiations. Approximately $60 billion in principal remains in default, or close to $100 billion including unpaid interest. Any restructuring would involve renegotiating repayment terms and depends heavily on sanctions developments and legal authorization to formally begin talks.