As these spreads widen, banks will be encouraged to begin lending again.
Paterson forecasts an increase in bank lending in Q II of 2010.
* * * * * J B K * * * * *
San Francisco
Corporate-Government Spread Widens: Credit Markets (Update3)
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By Bryan Keogh and Caroline Hyde
Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The cost to borrow in the corporate bond market is rising for the first time since November as Barclays Plc, Lloyds Banking Group Plc and more than a dozen other European banks sell record amounts of fixed-income securities to refinance $2 trillion of debt due this year.
The extra yield investors demand to own corporate debt instead of government securities widened on Jan. 15, expanding 1 basis point to 161 basis points, based on the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Broad Market Corporate Index. The last time the so-called spread expanded was Nov. 27, when it grew to 193 basis points from 191, or 1.91 percentage points.
Banks have sold more than $100 billion of securities this month, and the increase in spreads may be a sign the supply is crowding other borrowers out of the market. Investors say banks will face increasing competition from industrial companies and governments that may push up yields from a four-year low. Fortis Bank Nederland NV, controlled by the Dutch government, and Zurich-based Credit Suisse AG are among banks preparing to offer notes in coming days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
"We're seeing a glut of senior bonds from European financial issuers," said Philip Gisdakis, the Munich-based head of credit strategy at UniCredit SpA, Italy's biggest bank.
The decline in yields on financial bonds slowed last week, narrowing 4 basis points to 205 basis points more than benchmark rates, after a drop of 24 basis points the week before, based on Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Global Broad Market Financial Index. The two weeks marked the best performance since Aug. 7.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aAPnoA7ijOok&pos=2
* * * * * J B K * * * * *
San Francisco
James B. Klein
Paterson Financial Services
WEBSITE: paterson.com
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