By: Staff Writer
April 28, 2026
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said in their Capital flows to Latin America and the Caribbean: 2025 year-in-review and early 2026 developments, said international bond issuance totalled US$ 187 billion in 2025, 54 percent higher than in 2024, marking the highest level on record.
The report also said: “The pace of issuance was unprecedented as in September there was a reported (US$ 35 billion) recorded the second‐highest monthly total on record, behind January 2020 (US$ 38 billion). The third quarter (US$ 58 billion) and first quarter (US$ 52.5 billion) were the highest and second‐highest quarterly totals, while the first half of 2025 reached a record US$ 103 billion, exceeding the previous high of US$ 92 billion in the first half of 2021.”
It added: “Lower borrowing costs and strong demand supported issuance as the average coupon rate declined to 6.6 percent in 2025 (from 7.1 percent in 2024), reflecting the cumulative impact of Federal Reserve rate cuts in late 2024, expectations of further easing in mid‐2025, and the decline in U.S. Treasury yields between July and October, which together lowered global benchmark rates.”
It also said: “Activity was strong from the beginning of the year, as sovereign and corporate issuers took advantage of favourable global financial conditions, including robust investor demand and lower borrowing costs following monetary easing in late 2024. While U.S. policy rates remained on hold in the first half of the year, expectations of renewed easing strengthened as inflation moderated and growth slowed, culminating in rate cuts in September and October.
“These dynamics contributed to lower U.S. Treasury yields at key moments, improving external financing conditions for emerging markets, supported in part by a weaker U.S. dollar. At the same time, episodes of volatility—particularly in response to shifts in inflation data and policy expectations—created intermittent issuance windows. LAC borrowers responded by accessing markets opportunistically, concentrating issuance during periods of more supportive financing conditions.”
The report further noted: “LAC sovereign and corporate issuers returned actively to international markets in 2025, with many transactions linked to liability management operations, including refinancing, maturity extensions and debt exchanges ahead of large repayments due in 2026.
“Several sovereigns tapped markets multiple times during the year, often concentrating issuance in periods of more favourable market conditions. Brazil accessed international markets four times in 2025—in February, June, September and November—the highest number of sovereign external issuances in more than a decade.
“Eleven sovereigns and four sub‐sovereigns executed large benchmark transactions, alongside CAF (Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean), CABEI (Central American Bank for Economic Integration), and major corporate issuers, often with strong investor demand.”