MADRID, 17 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The capital markets in Spain were practically inactive during the first half of 2022, since only the issuance of 30 million euros in initial subscription offers was managed, which represents a decrease of 96% compared to the same period of 2021.
This is revealed by the fifth edition of the report ‘Key Performance Indicators of the Capital Markets Union’, prepared by the Association of Financial Markets of Europe (AFME), which was presented this Thursday in Brussels.
The issuance for capital increases, for its part, also registered a significant drop of 89% compared to the same period of the previous year and 85% compared to the first half of 2019.
This slowdown in the issuance of capital increases occurred after a record issuance of 7.3 billion euros was achieved in 2021, which was the largest volume ever issued within this category in Spain in a single year.
Debt issues amounted to 5.8 billion euros in investment grade bonds, which meant a 41% drop compared to 2021 and 21% compared to 2019, while high-yield bond issues slowed significantly during this period: 87% less was issued compared to 2021 and 77% less compared to 2019.
Overall, issues in the capital markets, both bonds and shares by non-financial corporations, experienced a 62% drop up to June.
The issuance of financing for non-financial corporations seems to have stagnated at a general level. Spain, however, experienced a significant increase in new bank loans in the first half of the year, which grew by 22% compared to the first half of 2021.
Regarding financing via venture capital, only 2.2% of the total financing of SMEs came from venture capital, compared to 6.8% for the whole of the European Union (EU).
The transfer of loans registered an increase of 73% compared to 2021 and 94% compared to 2019, while the sales of loan portfolios decreased in Spain during this period to 2,700 million euros.
Spain was the third country in the EU by volume of sustainable bond issuance, concentrating 21% of the total issuance. However, the country occupies the 11th position in the European ranking of sustainable bond markets because it is prepared by relating the national issuance of ESG bonds with the total issuance of bonds.
Regarding the issuance of ESG bonds (under environmental, social and governance criteria), Spain issued 5.5% of the total in the EU during the first semester, and was the fourth largest market after France, Germany and the Netherlands.
In total, ESG issuance represented 6.4% of the total in Spain in the first half of 2022, compared to 11.3% in 2021 and 5.8% in 2020.
This has not prevented a 35% reduction in ESG bond issuance during this period, driven mainly by a drop in green bond issuance, which was 47% lower than in 2021, and, to a lesser extent, the decline in the issuance of social bonds, which fell 21%.
