Europe’s Safest Firms See Biggest Jump in Bond Coupons in Decade

Blue-chip European companies saw the biggest weekly rise in the interest rates they pay on their bonds in a decade, a sign of the increased pressure on corporate balance sheets.

Coupon payments -- or the average annual interest -- for notes in a Bloomberg index of investment grade securities rose three basis points. That’s the biggest weekly jump since April 2012, coming as the region’s primary market had one of its busiest weeks for sales all year. The average rate is at its highest level since January 2021.

The surge in index coupon payments illustrates how the cost of ...