Corporates sprint to lock in low rates

Dealers are seeing increased demand for interest rate hedges despite higher execution costs

Corporate borrowers are moving quickly to lock in lower interest rates even as the coronavirus outbreak stops bond issuance in its tracks.

Dealers saw an increase in the number of clients looking to re-fix floating rate exposures and pre-hedge future issuance after central banks announced a series of rate cuts to contain the economic fallout.

The emergency measures have “triggered some corporate clients to lock in [borrowing costs] ahead of expected issuances,” says Flavio Figueiredo, global