AFME Leveraged Loan and High Yield Report, Fourth Quarter 2016

European leveraged finance issuance (leveraged loans and high yield bonds) increased in 4Q’16 to EUR 54.6 billion, a 2.5% increase from EUR 53.3 billion in 3Q’16 and more than double the EUR 25.6 billion issued in 4Q’15. The quarterly increase stems from the surge in leveraged loan issuance, which increased by 33.8% in the fourth quarter of 2016 while high yield bond issuance decreased by 36.5%; the high yield bond share of the leveraged finance market decreased to 27.6%, down from 44.5% in 3Q’16 and from 54.9% in 4Q’15.

Leveraged loan issuance, including first lien, second lien, and mezzanine financing, increased to EUR 39.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016, up 33.8% q-o-q (EUR 29.6 billion in 3Q’16) and up 242.0% y-o-y (EUR 11.6 billion in 4Q’15). For the full year 2016, EUR 121.3 billion in leveraged loans were issued, up 60.4% from EUR 75.7 billion in 2015 and the highest issuance volume since  239.7 billion in 2007.

Primary high yield issuance in 4Q’16 totaled EUR 15.1 billion on 42 deals, a 36.5% decrease from 3Q’16 (EUR 23.7 billion on 41 deals) but a 7.1% increase from 4Q’15 (EUR 14.1 billion on 38 deals). For the full year 2016, primary high yield issuance totaled EUR 81.3 billion, down 14.7% from EUR 95.4 billion in 2015.


About the Report

Done in partnership with AFME High Yield Division, the AFME Leveraged Loan and High Yield report is a quarterly report on the trends and statistics of the European leveraged finance market, including both high yield loans and leveraged loans. Issuance volumes, credit trends, global comparative issuance data, market highlights and commentary are included.

For more information on AFME’s efforts in the European leveraged finance sector, please visit AFME.

Credits

AFME

  • Director, Capital Markets: Gary Simmons
  • Manager, Research: Julio Suarez

SIFMA Research

  • Managing Director, Director of Research: Kyle Brandon
  • Senior Associate: Justyna Podziemska