New York, May 08, 2013 -- Moody's trailing 12-month global speculative-grade
default rate came in at 2.6% in April, up from a revised
rate of 2.5% in March and close to its year-ago forecast
of 2.8%, Moody's Investors Service says in its
monthly default report. At this time last year, the global
default rate stood at 2.7%.
Moody's "April Default Report" is now available,
as are Moody's other default research reports, in the Ratings
Analytics section of Moodys.com.
"Corporate defaults continue to be very stable and track the modest
pace we have expected," notes Albert Metz, Managing
Director of Credit Policy Research.
Four Moody's-rated corporate debt issuers defaulted last
month, and for the year to date the number is 25, with 15
from the US, eight from Europe and two from Latin America.
In the US, the speculative-grade default rate rose slightly,
to 3.1% in April from 3.0% (revised) in March.
The US rate was 3.0% at end-April last year.
In Europe, the rate edged lower, to 2.0% in
April from 2.1% (revised) in March. The European
rate ended April 2012 at 3.4%.
Based on its forecasting model, Moody's now expects the global
speculative-grade default rate to finish 2013 at 2.9%
and to edge lower thereafter, to end April 2014 at 2.5%.
Across industries, Moody's continues to expect default rates to
be highest in the Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing
sector in the US, and the Hotel, Gaming & Leisure sector
in Europe.
By dollar volume, the global speculative-grade bond default
rate came in at 1.4% in April, unchanged from the
prior month's revised level. At this time last year,
the rate was 1.7%.
In the US, the dollar-weighted speculative-grade bond
default rate also held steady, at 1.3% from March
to April. The comparable rate was 1.6% in April 2012.
In Europe, the dollar-weighted speculative-grade bond
default rate finished at 1.6% in April, also unchanged
from the prior month's revised reading. The European rate
stood at 2.3% at the end of April last year.
Moody's global distressed index fell to 8.0% in April
from 8.8% in March. A year ago, the index was
at 17.0%.
In the leveraged-loan market, no Moody's-rated
loans defaulted in April. Moody's trailing 12-month
US leveraged loan default rate finished April at 2.9%,
unchanged from the prior month. A year ago, the loan default
rate stood at 2.0%.
Moody's research subscribers can access this report at http://www.moodys.com/research/Monthly-Default-Report-April-2013--PBC_153686.
***
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS ONLY: For more information, please call
one of our global press information hotlines: New York +1-212-553-0376,
London +44-20-7772-5456, Tokyo +813-5408-4110,
Hong Kong +852-3758-1350, Sydney +61-2-9270-8141,
Mexico City 001-888-779-5833, São Paulo
0800-891-2518, or Buenos Aires 0800-666-3506.
You can also email us at mediarelations@moodys.com or visit our
web site at www.moodys.com.
Sharon Ou
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Credit Policy
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Albert Metz
MD - Credit Policy Research
Credit Policy
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Moody's: Global Spec-Grade Corporate Default Rate Edges Higher in April