Volumes in 2021 may not have reached the extraordinary heights of 2020, but it was still a busy year in the debt capital markets (DCM) and an exceptional year for BNP Paribas, which says it was a bookrunner in one out of every three European investment-grade bond issues.
“Investment-grade issuance in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) will be down 20% in 2021,” says Giulio Baratta, head of corporate DCM EMEA at BNP Paribas. Rather than having negative connotations, he notes, this reflects the record torrent of issuance the year before.
