Wall Street firms are debating whether US high-grade corporate bond sales can set a record in 2025 as just over $1 trillion of notes are set to mature.
Some key elements for a big year are in place after 2024 issuance set a multiyear high. Companies unleashed a record wave of bond sales early this decade, when the Federal Reserve cut rates to near-zero after Covid-19 hobbled economic activity. The echo of that boom is now coming as four- and five-year bonds sold then are coming due. Many will need to be refinanced.
On top of that, the …