Banks Saddled With $30 Billion in Unwanted Debt in Risk Exodus

The world’s biggest banks have already had to use about $30 billion of their own cash this year to fund loans for acquisitions and buyouts that they weren’t able to offload to investors.

The lenders have been forced to fund at least 15 deals in the US and Europe as inflation and fears of a recession sap investor appetite for risky corporate debt. The total tally, based on calculations using data sourced by Bloomberg, could nearly double over the coming months as more deals are scheduled to close.

While it’s not uncommon for banks to self-fund deals when market sentiment ...