Asia-Pacific Loan Issuance Falls 15% to $69 Billion in First Half, Weakest in 16 Years

Asia’s loan market has shown no clear rebound as it moved into the second half of the year, with bankers saying the aftermath of the Iran war has continued to weigh on confidence among lenders and borrowers. According to Jin10, data showed that in the first six months of this year, issuance of U.S. dollar, euro, and yen loans in the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan fell 15% year on year to $69 billion, marking the weakest first-half performance in 16 years. Bankers said the Middle East conflict delayed investment and deal activity in Asia, while tighter risk reviews by lenders have extended financing timelines. They added that these headwinds could persist for the rest of this year, and that competition could also limit spreads on some loans. Andrew Ashman, head of Asia-Pacific loan syndications at Barclays, said corporate confidence had declined as uncertainty increased. He added that expectations for more loans driven by merger-and-acquisition activity had not materialized, and that geopolitical conditions could continue to affect the volume of new loan deals in the future.