S&P Global Ratings' 2022 global corporate default tally has increased to 26 after Switzerland-based mineral fertilizer producer EuroChem Group AG missed a coupon payment. This marked the fourth default in Europe so far in April alone.
After no defaults in the region in the first quarter, the European 12-month-trailing speculative-grade default rate dropped to just 0.7% as of March 31, 2022, hitting its lowest level since October 2008 (see chart 1). However, with the increased pace of defaults since then, we expect this default rate could rise to 2.5% by December 2022 (see "The European Speculative-Grade Corporate Default Rate Could Rise To 2.5% By December 2022," Feb. 22, 2022).
This Week's Observations
- Despite the sharp rise in April, the global default tally is still below the 2021 year-to-date total of 32.
- The consumer products sector leads the global tally with six defaults, followed by homebuilders and real estate with four defaults.
- The U.S. and emerging markets regions lead the default tally with 11 each.
Table 1
The European Speculative-Grade Default Rate Fell To 0.70% In March 2022 | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Global corporate default summary | ||||||||||||
Region | 12-month-trailing speculative-grade default rate (%) | 2022 YTD default tally | 2021 YTD default tally | 2021 default tally | Weakest links tally | |||||||
U.S. | 1.4 | 11 | 20 | 40 | 121 | |||||||
Emerging markets | 2.0 | 11 | 3 | 15 | 64 | |||||||
Europe | 0.7 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 61 | |||||||
Other developed | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 10 | |||||||
Global | 1.4 | 26 | 32 | 72 | 256 | |||||||
Trailing-12-month speculative-grade default rates from March 31, 2021, to March 31, 2022. Year-to-date data as of April 20, 2022. Weakest link data as of March 8, 2022. Other developed region includes Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand. Default counts may include confidentially rated issuers. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence's CreditPro®. Copyright © 2018 by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC. All rights reserved. |
Chart 1
Chart 2
Chart 3
Chart 4
Table 2
This Year's Global Corporate Default Tally Reaches 26 | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Parent company | Country/market | Subsector | To | From | Reason | ||||||||
1/4/2022 |
ION Geophysical Corp. |
U.S. | Oil and gas | D | CCC | Missed principal and interest payments | ||||||||
1/4/2022 | Confidential | Confidential | Utilities | D | NR | Confidential | ||||||||
1/13/2022 |
R&F Properties (HK) Co. Ltd. |
Hong Kong | Homebuilders/real estate companies | SD | CC | Distressed exchange | ||||||||
1/19/2022 | Confidential | Confidential | Homebuilders/real estate companies | SD | CCC- | Confidential | ||||||||
1/24/2022 |
Fusion Connect Inc. |
U.S. | Telecommunications | SD | CC | Distressed exchange | ||||||||
2/1/2022 |
Future Retail Ltd. |
India | Consumer products | SD | CCC- | Missed principal payments | ||||||||
2/1/2022 |
TPC Group Inc. (TPC Group LLC) |
U.S. | Health care | D | CCC | Missed interest payments | ||||||||
2/4/2022 | Confidential | Confidential | Consumer products | D | NR | Confidential | ||||||||
2/9/2022 | Confidential | Confidential | Consumer products | SD | CCC | Confidential | ||||||||
2/10/2022 |
Credito Real, S.A.B. de C.V., SOFOM, E.N.R. |
Mexico | Financial Institutions | SD | CCC- | Missed principal payments | ||||||||
2/11/2022 | Confidential | Confidential | Homebuilders/real estate companies | SD | CC | Confidential | ||||||||
2/17/2022 |
U.S. TelePacific Holdings Corp. |
U.S. | Telecommunications | SD | CCC- | Distressed exchange | ||||||||
3/15/2022 |
Diamond Sports Group LLC (Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.) |
U.S. | Media and Entertainment | SD | CC | Distressed exchange | ||||||||
3/21/2022 |
Mulhacen Pte. Ltd. |
Singapore | Financial Institutions | D | CC | Distressed exchange | ||||||||
3/24/2022 |
MHP SE |
Ukraine | Consumer products | SD | B- | Missed interest payments | ||||||||
4/1/2022 |
Ruby Pipeline LLC |
U.S. | Utilities | D | CC | Missed principal payments | ||||||||
4/7/2022 |
Owl Finance Ltd. (Hibu Group Ltd.) |
U.K. | Media and entertainment | SD | CC | Distressed exchange | ||||||||
4/7/2022 |
PSS Industrial Group Corp. |
U.S. | Utilities | D | CCC- | Missed principal and interest payments | ||||||||
4/8/2022 |
Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. Ltd. |
China | Homebuilders/real estate companies | SD | CC | Distressed exchange | ||||||||
4/8/2022 |
Kernel Holding S.A. |
Ukraine | Consumer products | SD | B- | Missed interest payments | ||||||||
4/11/2022 |
Promotora de Informaciones S.A. |
Spain | Media and entertainment | SD | CC | Distressed exchange | ||||||||
4/12/2022 |
Dunn Paper Holdings Inc. |
U.S. | Chemicals, packaging, and environmental services | D | CCC | Missed interest payments | ||||||||
4/12/2022 |
Grupo Kaltex S.A. de C.V. |
Mexico | Consumer products | D | CCC- | Missed principal payments | ||||||||
4/12/2022 |
Petropavlovsk PLC |
U.K. | Metals, mining, and steel | SD | CCC- | Missed interest payments | ||||||||
4/13/2022 | Confidential | Confidential | High technology | D | CCC | Confidential | ||||||||
4/14/2022 |
EuroChem Group AG |
Switzerland | Chemicals, packaging, and environmental services | SD | CCC- | Missed interest payments | ||||||||
NR--Not rated. SD--Selective default. Data as of April 20, 2022. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence's CreditPro®. |
Related Research
- Russia-Ukraine Military Conflict: Key Takeaways From Our Articles, April 22, 2022
- Ratings Weekly Digest, April 20, 2022
- EuroChem Group AG Downgraded To 'SD'; Ratings Withdrawn, April 14, 2022
Default Studies
More analysis and statistics are available in our annual default studies, published on RatingsDirect:
Corporate (financial and nonfinancial)
- 2021 Annual Global Corporate Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2021 Annual Japanese Corporate Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual Australia And New Zealand Corporate Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual Infrastructure Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual Global Financial Services Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual Latin American Corporate Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual Greater China Corporate Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual European Corporate Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual Asia Corporate Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual Taiwan Ratings Corp. Corporate Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual U.S. Corporate Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual Mexican National Scale Corporate And Public Finance Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual Emerging And Frontier Markets Corporate Default And Rating Transition Study
Structured finance
- 2021 Annual Japanese Structured Finance Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual Mexican Structured Finance Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual European Structured Finance Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual Global Leveraged Loan CLO Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual Taiwan Structured Finance Default And Rating Transition Study
U.S. public finance
- 2020 Annual U.S. Public Finance Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual Mexican National Scale Corporate And Public Finance Default And Rating Transition Study
Sovereign and international public finance
- 2020 Annual International Public Finance Default And Rating Transition Study
- 2020 Annual Sovereign Default And Rating Transition Study
This report does not constitute a rating action.
Credit Markets Research: | Nicole Serino, New York + 1 (212) 438 1396; nicole.serino@spglobal.com |
Patrick Drury Byrne, Dublin (00353) 1 568 0605; patrick.drurybyrne@spglobal.com | |
Vaishali Singh, Pune; vaishali.singh2@spglobal.com |
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