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☆ Uncertain 2024 makes US companies refinance debt sooner, not later
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Matt Tracy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Doubts that debt issuance conditions will be as strong in 2024 as they are now, with markets still divided on the direction of interest rates and the economy, have also driven the interest in doing deals now. Credit spreads are underpricing recession risk, said Nate Thooft, senior portfolio manager for Manulife Investment Management. Even if companies waited for rate cuts in 2024, declines in all-in funding costs may not necessarily follow, as credit spreads could then widen, said Amol Dhargalkar, managing partner at Chatham Financial. But Natalie Trevithick, head of investment grade credit strategy at Payden & Rygel, said economic data was too strong for cuts. Some $770 billion of investment-grade rated bonds mature in 2024 and over $900 billion in both 2025 and 2026, according to data by Morgan Stanley (MS.N).

Persons: Joshua Roberts, Maureen O'Connor, Edward Marrinan, Nate Thooft, Amol Dhargalkar, Natalie Trevithick, Morgan Stanley, Steven Oh, Matt Tracy, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Davide Barbuscia, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Federal Reserve, REUTERS, ICE, BMO Capital Markets, Investment, Informa Global, Treasury, Federal, Nikko Securities America, Manulife Investment Management, Chatham Financial, Deutsche Bank, PineBridge Investments, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Wells, U.S

☆ Big companies toughen banking partner screening after crisis - survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Laura Matthews | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - Large companies are spreading out their counterparty risk and increasing screening of their banking partners in response to the recent banking crisis that has been a "wake-up call", according to an industry survey to be released on Thursday. Multinational companies and those with sales overseas use banks, or counterparties to the transactions, to trade foreign exchange and hedge currency risk. "All of a sudden there's a wake-up call," said Eric Huttman, CEO at MillTechFX, the specialist currency arm of Millennium Global. Huttman said his firm has added dozens of clients since the banking crisis and all of them have spent more time asking about its counterparty selection process. "The broad questions that companies are asking are, is my banking partner sound and will they be there when I need them," said Dhargalkar.

Persons: Eric Huttman, Huttman, Amol Dhargalkar, Banks, Laura Matthews, Megan Davies, Muralikumar Organizations: YORK, MillTechFX, Millennium, UBS, Credit Suisse, Chatham Financial, Thomson Locations: North America, Europe, Swiss

☆ Analysis: Dollar's gyrations raise hedging costs for U.S. companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Laura Matthews | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Currency volatility drove the J.P. Morgan VXY G7 Index (.JPMVXYG7) in September to its highest in more than two years. Volatility, which causes wider bid-ask spreads and makes hedging more expensive, is causing companies to reassess their hedging programs. SPREADING BETSAnother way businesses are trying to minimize hedging costs is by spreading currency management around to more brokers outside of their main clearing banks, hedging advisors said. Revenue at Argentex Group, a riskless principal broker, has risen 63% from to 2021 as FX volatility elevated corporate hedging needs. While currency gyrations have ebbed and hedging costs have declined, “volatility and inflation remain a concern for many companies,” Kyriba’s Gage said.

☆ Popular Tool to Cut Debt Costs Loses Luster as Global Central Banks Hike Rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Kristin Broughton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Corporate finance executives looking to cut their debt costs this year are likely to find one popular tool isn’t as attractive as it was when the Federal Reserve was aggressively raising interest rates in 2022. Under a cross-currency swap, a company exchanges principal and interest payments on its debt into another currency. Swaps can lose their appeal to companies when the gap between interest rates in two countries, or central banks, narrows. Corporate advisers said they expect cross-currency swap volumes to decline in the months ahead, assuming market expectations for future rate increases hold steady. That rule made it easier for companies to use cross-currency swaps and recognize the interest savings on their financial statements.

☆ Real-Estate Companies Grapple With High Interest Rate Hedging Costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Banks and other lenders often require real-estate firms relying on floating rate debt to hedge their exposure with so-called interest-rate caps. Real-estate companies are struggling with cost increases for labor and building materials as well as slowing demand. The company since March recorded a significant increase in derivatives costs, Mr. Barnes-Smith said, but declined to provide specifics. The company held about $643.8 million in variable rate debt as of June 30, or a little over half of its total debt, Mr. Barnes-Smith said. “These hedging cost issues make something that’s already expensive even more expensive for companies,” Mr. Dhargalkar said.

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