COVID-19- related corporate bankruptcies and debt defaults in the U.S. are on the rise. And it’s likely to get much uglier in the months ahead, despite efforts by lawmakers to shore up corporate balance sheets.
“So far this year, we’re almost running at a rate of double the defaults of last year,” said S&P Global CEO Douglas Peterson on Yahoo Finance’s The First Trade. “We think that there is going to be an increase in default levels up to potentially 10% of the high yield debt [markets].” In April, the rate was 3.9%.
Peterson would know: One of his firm’s main profit centers is to issue ratings and analysis on various corporate debt issuances.
This month alone has brought a series of high-profile bankruptcies in the United States, mostly in a retail sector hit hard by the health pandemic.
Neiman Marcus, J.C. Penney and J. Crew — all sub investment grade rated companies — have filed for bankruptcy, hoping to emerge as smaller organizations with far less debt. Whether they do emerge from insolvency is anyone’s guess, but it’s likely other struggling names in retail will join them in filing for bankruptcy soon and default on various loans.
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