By: Staff Writer
December 2, 2025
The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said in a recent report that international bond issuances have hit a record $161 Billion in thre first nine months of 2025.
Capital flows to Latin America and the Caribbean report for the first nine months of 2025 also said that for the first nine months of 2025 the $161 billion volume was 32 percent higher than the full-year total for 2024 (US$ 122 billion) and surpassed the previous annual peak of US$ 149 billion reached in 2021, underscoring the exceptional pace of external financing so far in 2025.
The report added: “The average coupon rate of 6.6 percent, compared with 7.1 percent in 2024, points to an easing in external financing costs. The market remained open to high-yield issuers, though investment-grade borrowers accounted for roughly two-thirds (64 percent) of total issuance.”
It also said: “In contrast to the overall surge in activity, green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked (GSSS) bond issuance totalled US$ 14.05 billion in the first nine months of 2025 (54.5 percent lower than in the same period of 2024) and accounted for 8.7 percent of total LAC issuance (down from 27.2 percent in 2024 and 35 percent in 2023).
“The decline was influenced by a sharp reduction in sovereign GSSS activity —with only one sovereign transaction in the period— and by borrowers prioritising conventional (“plain vanilla”) structures to secure funding more quickly (as these do not require the additional verification and disclosure steps associated with GSSS bonds) amid volatile U.S. Treasury yields and tariff-related uncertainty.
“Credit quality trends remained favourable in the first nine months of 2025. Sovereign credit rating actions were a net positive, as upgrades and improvements in outlooks exceeded downgrades and negative outlook revisions.
“Spreads tightened and market volatility remained low. The Latin EMBIG tightened by 78 basis points in the period, while the overall EMBIG narrowed by 39 basis points. Latin American bonds’ greater sensitivity to currency movements partly explains the stronger compression in spreads, as a weaker U.S. dollar and lower Treasury yields supported debt performance.”
The report also said: “Equity markets rebounded strongly. After a low point in early April following U.S. tariff announcements, regional equities rallied as risk appetite recovered and LAC currencies appreciated against the U.S. dollar. The MSCI Latin America Index rose by 38 percent in the first nine months of 2025, outperforming both the MSCI Emerging Markets (25 percent) and MSCI G7 (16 percent) indices.
“Investor sentiment was broadly positive. The combination of record issuance volumes, tighter spreads, and strong equity performance underscored renewed confidence and resilient risk appetite toward LAC assets in the first nine months of 2025.”