StatsCan reports debt securities surged in 2019

Canadian corporations and governments stepped up their debt securities issuance in 2019, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

Net issuance for 2019 totalled $138.5 billion, StatsCan reported, which was up from $107.0 billion in the previous year.

The financial sector drove the new issue activity, contributing $87.2 billion of new debt securities during the year.

“Borrowing conditions improved, with Canadian long-term interest rates down by 37 basis points in 2019,” StatsCan said.

In particular, bond issuance surged from $72.6 billion in 2018 to $133.2 billion in 2019, StatsCan reported.

“Net issuances of bonds with an original maturity of two to five years, a market typically dominated by banks, accounted for the bulk of the rise,” StatsCan said.

“Meanwhile, net issuances of short-term debt securities slowed down.”

The total value of debt securities finished the year at $4.4 trillion, and the total Canadian equity market cap came in at $3.08 trillion.

“For the year 2019, the value of Canadian equity securities rose 18.2%, following a decline of 11.0% in 2018,” StatsCan said.

“Non-financial corporations accounted for more than half of the annual growth in 2019, with utilities, transportation and warehousing, information and cultural industries, as well as professional, scientific and technical services posting the largest increases,” StatsCan added.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.