Credit Defaults Hit Highest Since October 2020, JPMorgan Says

Defaults in the US corporate-credit market last month jumped to the highest since October 2020, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co., with five such lapses and one distressed debt exchange affecting a total of $5.8 billion of bonds and loans.

• The rising distress marks a shift from the fourth quarter, when there were no defaults, according to JPMorgan
• Of January’s defaults, one was from a bond-only issuer, one was from a bond-and-loan issuer, and three were loan-only borrowers
• “We expect high yield bond and leveraged loan default rates to trend higher over the next two years and hover around ...