2019 Is Not Looking Good For European Corporate Borrowers

Skyscrapers stand on the city skyline in Frankfurt, Germany, on Monday, June 12, 2017. The European Union is pushing ahead with plans to assert control over the clearing of euro-denominated derivatives, a politically charged step that could force firms to move from London to the EU after Brexit.Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

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By Emma Haslett

December 19, 2018 at 11:10 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Europe’s non-financial companies may find it costlier to borrow next year as the end of European Central Bank bond-buying and Brexit combine to drive up risk, S&P Global Ratings said in a report.

Borrowers are set to endure a “more difficult year” as investors seek higher premiums to “compensate for the deterioration in conditions and intensifying risks,” S&P said in its 2019 European Corporate Credit Outlook. It added that ratings trends “already point to a deterioration in credit quality.”