Roberto Isolani, joint head of global capital markets at UBS
The dynamic between issuers and investors has changed completely. Investors now have all the power and issuers have had to become much more realistic in terms of pricing. At first, they were in denial about the collapse of the markets, but have since come to accept that the living was just too easy pre-August 2007.
Jim Esposito, head of syndicate and debt financing at Goldman Sachs
The deepest pockets of available liquidity have been pushed further out the maturity spectrum. Over the past couple of years, the short end of the primary market (eg 18 months to three years) has absorbed approximately 50% of investment grade supply. Since this period of credit volatility started in July, we’ve seen a lot less activity in shorter maturities and much more frequent issuance in 10- and 30-year maturities. It used to be rare to see a financial borrower issuing a 30-year whereas now it has become commonplace.
Eamonn Price, former head of FIG capital markets at Lehman Brothers
In terms of the FIG sector, issuers are far more careful, thoughtful and deliberate about accessing the markets.