| Headline: MTNs drift on market uncertainty Source: Euromoney Date: November 2001 Author: Chris Newlands MEDIUM-TERM NOTES
Triple-A issuers are an exception. Investors’ flight to quality has made it an excellent time for triple-As to place paper and, despite many triple-A issuers already exceeding their funding targets for 2001, high-grade borrowers are flocking to the market But for the lower-rated issuers life is more difficult. According to MTNWare, Triple-B issuance fell from a high of $13 billion in April this year to just $2.45 billion in September 2001 – its lowest level this year. Those lower-rated issuers that can afford to stay out of the market are doing so and, in the private corporate sector, issuance slumped to $2.83 billion in the first four weeks after September 11, a fall of 50% on the previous four weeks. Christian Kammann, group treasurer at Heidelberger Zement, a triple-B German materials company, has not tapped the MTN market since June 2001 but he does not expect a return to the market soon. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||