---
title: "Im Fokus Credit: EUR Corporate Bonds - Primärmarkt Q1 2026"
url: https://www.helaba.com/de/im-fokus-credit-eur-corporate-bonds-primaermarkt-q1-2026
type: dd_research
language: de
updated: 2026-09-28
keywords: Renten, Marktanalysen, Im Fokus: Credits & Covered Bonds
---

# Im Fokus Credit: EUR Corporate Bonds - Primärmarkt Q1 2026

Focus on: Credit 30 March 2026 © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 30 March 2026 1 of 5 Research & Advisory EUR Corporate Bonds: Primary Market Q1 2026 Amazon leads with record buying spree In the primary market for euro-denominated corporate bonds, around € 140 billion was placed across more than 210 individual issues in the first quarter of 2026 – around € 25 bil- lion more than in the same quarter of 2025. Issuance in both January and March significantly exceeded the levels seen a year earlier. The conflict with Iran, which escalated at the end of February, caused only a brief interruption in issuance activity. US companies, led by Amazon with a record € 14.5 billion issuance across eight tranches, played a significant role in sus- taining market momentum. The increase in uncertainty was, however, reflected in funding costs: Euro swap rates in particular are currently well above their levels at the end of Febru- ary. In the secondary market, credit spreads widened more noticeably, especially in cyclical sectors such as automotive and chemicals. New issue premiums in the primary market have also increased mark- edly of late. Strong appetite for big benchmark tranches – US issuers dominate field of very large transactions The share of individual bonds with a size of € 1.5 billion or more was unusually high at almost 15 %, largely be- cause of the higher number of large transactions. Smaller benchmark bonds of up to € 1 billion remained the most popular tranche format, however, accounting for 64 %. The largest overall transactions of the quarter were issued exclusively by US companies – Amazon (€ 14.5 billion in eight tranches in March), IBM (€ 3.5 billion in four tranches in January), as well as Baker Hughes and Maple Parent (€ 3 billion each in four tranches in March). The biggest placement by a European company came from the French energy utility EDF (€ 2.75 billion in four tranches in March). Bonds with a sustainability component reached a market share of 17 % in the first quarter, slightly above the level recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025 (16 %). Almost all of these were green bonds. Ulrich Kirschner, CFA Senior Analyst T +49 69/91 32-28 39 Solid market performance in Q1 Euro corporate bonds\*: Issuance volume in EUR (billions)\* \*As of 30 March 2026. Issues with a minimum volume of EUR 50 million. Sources: Bloomberg, bondradar, Helaba Research & Advisory 0 100 200 300 400 500 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Focus on: EUR Corporate Bonds - Primary Market Q1 2026 © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 30 March 2026 2 of 5 Utilities largest sector by volume and deal count – non-European issuers more active than ever Utilities accounted for 21 % of market volume and 42 individual transactions in the first three months of the year, making them the largest sector by volume and deal count. Non-European issuers were more active in the first quarter than ever before: Compared with full-year 2025, their share of total issuance rose from 28 % to 35 %. This higher level of issuance was driven primarily by the strong presence of US companies. Compared with the previous year, their market share increased by 11 percentage points to 31 %. German corporates were the second-largest country group, accounting for 15 % of total placement volume. Hybrid bonds drive subordinated issuance – buoyant demand for long-dated bonds Subordinated bonds were issued almost twice as often in the first quarter as they were over the course of 2025. This was driven in particular by a sharp increase in hybrid bond issuance, which accounted for 13 % of total vol- ume. Sub-investment-grade issuance, by contrast, declined slightly to 16 %. So far, deals by issuers without an agency rating have been limited. At almost 40 % of total issuance volume, bonds rated “A-“ or higher were more prominent than in the past. Issues with maturities above seven years accounted for just under half of total market volume. Focus on: EUR Corporate Bonds - Primary Market Q1 2026 © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 30 March 2026 3 of 5 Chartbook: Euro-denominated corporate bond issuance Q1 volumes exceed prior-year level Swap rates push up refinancing costs EUR corporate bonds: Issuance volume in EUR (billions)\* EUR corporate bonds BBB: Euro swap rate and iBoxx ASW in %\* \*As of 30.03.2026. Sources: Bloomberg, bondradar, Helaba Research & Advisory \*As of 30.03.2026. Sources: LSEG, Helaba Research & Advisory 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 2023 2024 2025 2026 0,0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 01.22 07.22 01.23 07.23 01.24 07.24 01.25 07.25 01.26 Euro Swap Rate 5Y iBoxx Non-Fin BBB 3-5Y Indicative refinancing costs BBB 5Y Bonds with a sustainability component accounted for 17 % of issuance in Q1 Corporate ESG bond placements in EUR (billions)\* \*As of 30.03.2026. Includes sustainable, social and sustainability-linked bonds from Q1 2021. Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory 0% 11% 16% 25% 25% 41% 38% 16% 28% 24% 29% 20% 19% 17% 0% 6% 12% 18% 24% 30% 36% 42% 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Q1 '16 Q2 '16 Q3 '16 Q4 '16 Q1 '17 Q2 '17 Q3 '17 Q4 '17 Q1 '18 Q2 '18 Q3 '18 Q4 '18 Q1 '19 Q2 '19 Q3 '19 Q4 '19 Q1 '20 Q2 '20 Q3 '20 Q4 '20 Q1 '21 Q2 '21 Q3 '21 Q4 '21 Q1 '22 Q2 '22 Q3 '22 Q4 '22 Q1 '23 Q2 '23 Q3 '23 Q4 '23 Q1 '24 Q2 '24 Q3 '24 Q4 '24 Q1 '25 Q2 '25 Q3 '25 Q4 '25 Q1 '26 Sustainability- linked Sustainable Social Green Market share\* of corporate ESG bond issues Chemical-sector spreads recently under pressure Rise in very large benchmark tranches Development of asset swap spread relative to iBoxx € non-financials\* EUR corporate bonds: Placements by issue size in EUR (millions)\* \*As of 30.03.2026. Sources: Bloomberg, LSEG, Helaba Research & Advisory \*As of 30.03.2026. Sources: Bloomberg, bondradar, Helaba Research & Advisory 0,8 0,9 1,0 1,1 1,2 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 iBoxx € Non-Financials Chemicals Spread ratio Chemicals / Non-Fin (rhs) 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 < 250 500 to < 1000 1000 to < 1500 >= 1500 250 to < 500 Focus on: EUR Corporate Bonds - Primary Market Q1 2026 © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 30 March 2026 4 of 5 Utilities with the largest issuance volume … … and most individual bonds EUR corporate bonds: Issuance volume by sector, Q1 2026\* EUR corporate bonds: Number of issues by sector, Q1 2026\* \*As of 30.03.2026. Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory \*As of 30.03.2026. Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory Utilities 21% Personal Goods 17% Telco 11% Industrials 11% Automotive 9% Food & Bev 8% Technology 6% Chemicals 4% Oil and Gas 4% Other 9% Utilities 42 Personal Goods 26 Telco 21 Industrials 33 Automotive 15 Food & Bev 20 Technology 11 Chemicals 12 Oil and Gas 6 Other 25 Non-European issuers unusually active US issuers placed every third euro in the market EUR corporate bonds: Issuance volume by region, Q1 2026\* EUR corporate bonds: Issuance volume by country of origin, Q1 2026\* \*As of 30.03.2026. Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory \*As of 30.03.2026. Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory European core 55% European periphery 10% Others 35% (2025: 28 %) US 31% GE 15% FR 14% NL 9% GB 7% IT 4% ES 4% CH 4% JP 3% DK 2%Others 7% Subordinated paper highly sought after IG issuers account for bulk of activity EUR corporate bonds: Issuance volume by ranking, Q1 2026\* EUR corporate bonds: Issuance volume by credit quality group+ \*As of 30.03.2026. Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory \*As of 30.03.2026. Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory Senior 87% Subordinated 13% (2025: 7 %) 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 IG HY Crossover NR Focus on: EUR Corporate Bonds - Primary Market Q1 2026 © Helaba | Research & Advisory | 30 March 2026 5 of 5 Publisher and editor Helaba Research & Advisory Editor: Stefan Rausch Publisher: Dr. Gertrud R. Traud Chief Economist/ Head of Research & Advisory Neue Mainzer Str. 52-58 60311 Frankfurt am Main Germany T +49 69 / 91 32 - 2024 Internet: www.helaba.com Disclaimer This publication was very carefully researched and prepared. However, it contains analyses and fore- casts regarding current and future market condi- tions that are for informational purposes only. The data are based on sources that we consider reliable, though we cannot assume any responsibility for the sources being accurate, complete, and up to date. All statements in this publication are for informa- tional purposes. They must not be taken as an offer or recommendation for investment decisions. 40 % of issuance volume rated “A-“ or above Half of total volume with tenor of above 7 years EUR corporate bonds: Issuance volume by rating category, Q1 2026\* EUR corporate bonds: Issuance volume by maturity, Q1 2026\* \*As of 30.03.2026. Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory \*As of 30.03.2026. Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory BBB+ 19% A- 15% BBB 13% BBB- 12% AA- 11% A 7% BB 6% BB- 4% B 4% A+ 3% NR 2% Others 4% Perpet. 9% > 15 yr 8% > 10 - 15 yr 17% > 7 - 10 yr 25% > 5 - 7 yr 22% > 3 - 5 yr 10% <= 3 yr 9% Sign up for our newsletter here: https://news.helaba.de/research/ Average bond size noticeably higher than in 2025 Floating-rate notes remain in high demand EUR corporate bonds: Average issuance size in EUR (millions)\* EUR corporate bonds: Issuance volume by fixed vs. floating, Q1 2026\* \*As of 30.03.2026. Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory \*As of 30.03.2026. Sources: Bloomberg, Helaba Research & Advisory 0 200 400 600 800 1.000 Perpet. > 15 yr > 10 - 15 yr > 7 - 10 yr > 5 - 7 yr > 3 - 5 yr <= 3 yr Total 2025 2025 Fixed 76% Floaters (Other) 11% Floaters (Hybrids) 13% (2025: 11 %)

Q1 issuance volume of €140 billion, significantly higher than the previous year. Strong participation by U.S. companies. Bonds with maturities of more than seven years in high demand.