Survey of Swedish non-financial corporations’ financing

Date 28/09/2011

During spring 2011, the Riksbank conducted a survey to get a better idea of Swedish corporations’ financing and to contribute towards increasing the transparency of the Swedish corporate debt market. The survey asked a sample of Swedish non-financial corporations to describe their financing structure and upcoming maturities on the bond and loan markets.

 

The survey’s results show the following:

• Bilateral bank loans and equity capital form the most important financing sources for corporations, regardless of size.
• Bilateral loans are especially important for the smaller companies. On the other hand, syndicated loans are more common among larger companies. In total, almost two-fifths of the bank loans reported are syndicated loans.
• Larger companies use the bond market for funding to a greater degree than smaller companies.
• The majority of the bank loans are denominated in Swedish kronor, while the majority of the corporate bonds are issued in foreign currency.
• The majority of the outstanding bank loans and bonds among Swedish companies will mature in 2015 or later. Smaller companies have larger maturities coming up in the nearest future than larger companies. 
• The larger companies expect changes to their financing structure to a greater degree than the smaller companies and are more interested in issuing on the corporate bond market than the smaller ones

 

An analysis of the survey’s results is presented in the article “Markets for Swedish non-financial companies’ loan-based financing”. The article will be published in the Sveriges Riksbank Economic Review no. 2 2011 in October.