U.S. primary credit markets are now the most competitive on record, according to Barclays’ analysis. The assessment is based on over one million investor records since 2017, driven by substantial demand for new corporate bonds. This surge in demand has resulted in tighter allocations and increased early-stage trading activity.
Data from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE) system supports Barclays’ findings. The Barclays dataset indicates that new bond issuances are increasingly ‘selling out’ to a broader and more diverse investor base. Barclays attributes this trend to a combination of structural and cyclical factors, including a larger pool of funds vying for new-issue allocations.
Competition in the first half of 2025 has intensified significantly, with investment-grade debt seeing a 15% increase and high-yield debt experiencing a roughly 30% rise compared to 2017. Sectors, including banking, capital goods, consumer non-cyclical, consumer cyclical and technology, have seen the steepest increases. The most liquid parts of the market have seen the steepest rise of 30% to 35%.
The report also notes that unmet primary market demand is spilling over into secondary trading. Turnover on deals exceeding $1 billion has jumped to 26% in the first 10 days of 2025, up from 15% in 2017, suggesting that broader initial ownership is driving early trading activity.
