Bankers prime first hybrids since corona crash

摘要

Bankers are telling their corporate clients to raise hybrid debt as a way of repairing their balance sheets but the path to market is being made much trickier by mass ratings downgrades. Following the busiest month on record for euro investment-grade corporate issuance as companies scrambled to issue bonds in order to shore up liquidity, bankers say the market is now ready for riskier instruments. "We are tabling hybrids to everyone," said one banker. Within the next couple of weeks the market could see the first hybrid bond issued since the selloff which was sparked by the pandemic. The most likely candidates are utilities and telecoms companies that have outstanding hybrid debt and call dates coming up, said a second banker.