The first half of 2025 represents a decisive transformation from the defense of the public dead to strategic publishing, as the version patterns reflect not only a recovery in confidence but the re -placement of deliberate financing forms.
The issuance of European companies ’bonds at the investment level exceeded 100 billion euros in May 2025, an increase of 22 % on an annual basis and the highest total in the first half since 2021 and a new monthly record.12. The most surprising is the nature of deals: the largest tickets, places across the border, and a clear shift towards financing the capital market as an alternative to traditional banking lending.
With the stability of monetary conditions and the decline in the risk of macroeconomic economics, this recovery is less than periodic bounce and more than the long -term calibration of how the source of companies and the structure and referring to its capital.
From a pause to the strategy re -entry
Throughout 2023 and early 2024, the treasury secretary has largely adopted a defensive position. Understanding about the path of the European Central Bank prices, continuous inflation, and geopolitical instability that have been manufactured. The proliferation has expanded, the delicacy of the investor’s appetite, and the expansion plans were postponed.
By 2025, the background turned. The European Central Bank’s decision to keep the fixed rates for the third quarter in a row gave the markets a breathing room. Inflation in the euro area fell to 2.3 % in June, near the central bank’s goal. The budgets of strong companies remained, after building liquidity during the uncertainty period.
With the stability of the overall image, companies exported the opportunity. CAIXABANK’s banking and investment services section has seen the pent -up demand to a deal flow. This does not only apply to the local market in Spain-companies all over the world with the needs of financing in the short term as well as long-term strategic investments that return to work. One example: Nearly half of all the funding that was filled with the bank’s CIB section in 2024 was originated in international branches.
The convergence of incentives
This recovery is the product of multiple reinforcement factors. This is not a flood of opportunistic re-financing-it is a more selective wave of version, specially designed for a new set of investor requirements.
In the second quarter of 2025, there was a noticeable rise in multi -argument and hybrid structures, as companies benefited from the appetite of the strong investor to return with long or dependent tools. The ESG -linked version also began to recover, albeit with a tougher scrutiny. Investors ask more difficult questions – and exporters respond with better transparency and the main performance indicators.
For example, Caixabank recently worked as a joint Bookrunner, as he presided over the joint funding of the Scottish Authority, with a total amount of more than 1.6 billion euros (900 million euros and 600 million pounds of £ and a giving it the National Wealth Fund). Green financing to develop and build smart electricity networks or managed by Power Scottish in the United Kingdom had to comply with the classification standards stipulated in the framework of green financing in the United Kingdom.
Globalization of European companies financing
While the euro version remains dominant, there was also a recovery in non -European places by European companies, especially in the US dollar. American non -financial companies borrowed 40 billion euros as of May 9, according to Bank of America data3. This trend is driven by conditions of coins hedging, as well as the widespread global investor’s interest in high -quality European names.
This global diversification indicates a deliberate strategy: companies build flexibility by expanding the investor base and improving currency access.
It is time for banks to restore calibration?
What distinguishes the recovery of 2025 from the previous waves is its quality. Companies do not overwhelm the market by re -financing. Instead, it is allocating structures to match the advanced investor requirements. This creates a moment of calibration to companies and investment banks. Customers now expect more than just a distribution – they want advice on everything from an ESG interest rate overclocking to organizational disclosures. The ability to help customers re -enter the market smoothly, credible and strategy is where banks should be separated.
The new scene is not related to issuing size alone, but rather a value. The days of the issuance of negative bonds disappeared. In their place, a more intelligent, more intense market, as the capital is raised not only for re -financing but to replace it.
Banks are evolving to meet this need. So, CIIB CIIB has grown at Caixabank from 760 employees at the end of 2024 to 850, with plans to expand to 920 by 2027. The department will explore opportunities across many geographical areas, especially in the sectors with global fingerprint, especially renewable energy, civil and digital infrastructure, technology, and financial services.
The next stage of market leadership
This is not a return to work as usual. It is the opening stage of a more intelligent cycle where the success scale is created, not just the raised size. These companies and banks that can combine strategic insight with the implementation of the disciplined market will determine the next chapter of the leadership of European capital markets.
