These days, sub-investment grade companies issue 'high-yield paper'. But, back when the market first opened, they issued 'junk', and bankers in Europe struggled to persuade clients that they could access this market and still stand tall. The battle has been long and hard but there are signs that European corporates are beginning to come round.
"There appears to be less of a stigma associated with being a non-investment grade corporate in Europe, so corporates are less reluctant to tap the high-yield markets for funding," says Jim Yu, managing director in European high yield and leveraged finance at Morgan Stanley.
