In 2001, the largest rating category for top European corporate borrowers in all key currencies went down from A2 to BBB1. That was due to rating downgrades, not new issues responding to increased BBB demand. For some issuers, it meant losing the coveted A1/P1 short-term rating, significantly restricting access to the US commercial paper (CP) market. Not surprisingly, this year, treasurer’s should expect investors’ hunger for timely and comprehensive information to increase. In this article, we set out some of the ideas we have put before investors in European corporate bonds for 2002. Suffice to say, investor relations has never been more important than it is now.
