Distressed exchanges drive 2023 global corporate defaults To 118

There were 11 defaults in September, which brought the global corporate default total to 118 this year, nearly twice as much as the 2022 total, and marginally above its 5-year average of 101, said S&P Global Ratings in a report published today, "Distressed Exchanges Drive 2023 Global Corporate Defaults To 118."

"Distressed exchange defaults are continuing to appeal to some distressed issuers that view out-of-court restructuring more favorably than other options like traditional bankruptcy," noted Nicole Serino of S&P Global Ratings Credit Market Research.

With six additions in September, the total count of distressed exchanges increased to 52 so far in 2023, making it the highest year-to-date count of distressed exchanges since 2009.

Although down month over month, U.S. and European defaults have both increased and can be attributed to persistent core inflation, a drawn-out period of high rates, and slower growth. S&P Global Ratings expects both the U.S. and European trailing-12-month speculative-grade corporate default rates to increase to 4.5% and 3.75% as of June 2023 from current levels of 3.7% and 3.3%, respectively.

This report does not constitute a rating action.

The report is available to RatingsDirect subscribers at www.capitaliq.com. If you are not a RatingsDirect subscriber, you may purchase a copy of the report by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. Ratings information can also be found on S&P Global Ratings' public website by using the Ratings search box at www.spglobal.com/ratings.