Capital markets loan activity continued to struggle in the third quarter of 2023, as issuers in the Americas and Europe held off from tapping markets, while interest rates appeared to reach their peak. Meanwhile, activity in Asia has been hampered by China’s ongoing property crisis, leading the World Bank to slash its growth forecasts for the region’s largest economy. The result is that both quarterly and year-to-date (YTD) issuance placed significantly below global historical averages.
Despite a relatively busy September, which showed faint signs of a possible recovery, EMEA’s 3Q23 issued volume of USD 144.8bn was the lowest figure in the previous five years. The region’s total was 47% below the 2018-22 average and 48% below 3Q22 total volume.
With macroeconomic conditions still challenging, third-quarter volume in the Americas (USD 440bn) was 24% down on the average. While the total held up better than at the height of the pandemic in 3Q20 (USD 316bn), it still marked a 35% decrease against year-on-year (YoY) comparisons. APAC companies managed to get USD 155bn, 36% below the average.
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