Early days for corporate bonds

Corporate bonds are even less developed in Scandinavia that in the rest of Europe, but a ratings culture could change all that.

Housing Fund of Finland: daring issuer

Leading bookrunners of Nordic issues,
October 1997-September 1998

US$ m No. issues Share (%)

1

Salomon Smith Barney

4,244

14

17

2

Merrill Lynch

2,993

16

12

3

ABN Amro

2,460

8

10

4

Morgan Stanley

1,751

8

7

5

Credit Suisse First Boston

1,674

6

7

6

Barclays Capital

1,369

5

6

7

Nomura Securities

1,295

17

5

8

JP Morgan

1,118

5

5

9

Warburg Dillon Read

994

7

4

10

Goldman Sachs

780

3

3

Source: CapitalData Bondware

With the advent of the euro European corporate bonds are likely to flourish, and Nordic corporate bonds with them. But, while they are in their infancy in most European countries, in Scandinavia they are embryonic. Issuance from Nordic names over the past year includes only a handful of corporate names – Norsk Hydro, Statoil, Volvo – the tables being dominated by banks, municipalities and export-credit agencies.

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