articles Ratings /ratings/en/research/articles/211210-default-transition-and-recovery-the-2021-global-corporate-default-tally-increases-to-69-12220554 content esgSubNav
In This List
COMMENTS

Default, Transition, and Recovery: The 2021 Global Corporate Default Tally Increases To 69

COMMENTS

Credit Trends: U.S. Corporate Bond Yields As Of Dec. 11, 2024

COMMENTS

Default, Transition, and Recovery: Global Speculative-Grade Corporate Default Rate To Decline To 3.5% By September 2025

COMMENTS

Default, Transition, and Recovery: Defaults On Track To Close The Year Below 2023 Levels

COMMENTS

Default, Transition, and Recovery: 2023 Annual Mexican Structured Finance Default And Rating Transition Study


Default, Transition, and Recovery: The 2021 Global Corporate Default Tally Increases To 69

The 2021 global corporate default tally has increased to 69 following the defaults of China-based (Cayman Islands-incorporated) China Aoyuan Group Ltd. and one confidential issuer. So far in the fourth quarter there have been nine defaults, four based in China as Chinese real estate developers continue to face funding challenges (see "Asia-Pacific Credit Outlook 2022 China Decelerates, Fed Deliberates," Dec. 6, 2021).

Nonetheless, global corporate quarterly defaults continue to show a downward trajectory, with the 12-month-trailing speculative-grade default rate for the U.S. declining to 2.0% in October 2021 from 6.6% in January 2021, while the European default rate fell to 2.5% from 5.1% during the same period. After no European defaults and only two U.S. defaults in the last month, we expect the 12-month-trailing speculative-grade default rates to decline in November to 1.7% and 2.1% for the U.S. and Europe, respectively.

Chart 1

image

This Week's Observations

  • With only nine defaults, the fourth-quarter 2021 tally is tied with the lowest fourth-quarter default count since 2008 (see chart 1).
  • The U.S. leads the 2021 default tally with 39, followed by emerging markets with 14 defaults (see table 1).
  • Defaults related to distressed exchanges accounted for 59% in 2021 while in 2020 they accounted for 33% (see chart 4).

Chart 2

image

Chart 3

image

Chart 4

image

Chart 5

image

Table 1

The U.S. Leads 2021 Defaults With 39 Out Of 69
Region 12-month-trailing speculative-grade default rate (%) 2021 YTD 2020 YTD 2020 Weakest links
U.S. *1.7 39 142 146 155
Emerging markets 1.7 14 28 28 20
Europe *2.1 13 42 42 54
Other developed 3.0 3 10 10 13
Global 2.1 69 222 226 242
*Trailing-12-month speculative-grade default rates from Nov. 30, 2020–Nov. 30, 2021, are preliminary and subject to change. Year-to-date data as of Dec. 8. Weakest link data is as of Sept. 30, 2021. Other developed region is Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand. Default counts may include confidentially rated issuers. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®.

Table 2

The 2021 Global Corporate Default Tally Increased To 69
Date Parent company Country Subsector To From Reason
1/5/21

HGIM Corp.

U.S. Oil and gas SD CC Distressed exchange
1/6/21

Promotora de Informaciones S.A.

Spain Media and entertainment SD CC Distressed exchange
1/8/21

Burger BossCo Intermediate Inc.

U.S. Retail/restaurants SD CCC Distressed exchange
1/8/21

Riverbed Parent Inc.

U.S. High technology SD CC Distressed exchange
1/21/21

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.

U.S. Media and entertainment SD CC Distressed exchange
1/25/21

Awesome Acquisition Co. L.P.

U.S. Retail/restaurants D NR Chapter 11
1/25/21

Alpha Media LLC

U.S. Media and entertainment D NR Bankruptcy
1/27/21

Imagine Group LLC (The)

U.S. Media and entertainment D CCC Distressed exchange
2/2/21

Belk Inc.

U.S. Retail/restaurants D CC Missed interest payments
2/3/21

Peabody Energy Corp.*

U.S. Metals, mining, and steel SD CC Distressed exchange
2/3/21 Confidential Confidential Health care SD CCC- Confidential
2/11/21 Confidential Confidential Automotive D CCC- Confidential
2/11/21

Vallourec

France Oil and gas SD CC Missed principal payments
2/19/21

Renfro Corp.

U.S. Consumer products SD CCC- Distressed exchange
2/22/21

CatLuxe Sarl (CatLuxe Acquistion Sarl)

Luxembourg Consumer products SD CCC+ Distressed exchange
2/22/21

Form Technologies LLC

U.S. Capital goods SD CC Distressed exchange
2/26/21

YPF S.A.

Argentina Oil and gas SD CC Distressed exchange
3/2/21

Sunshine 100 China Holdings Ltd.§

Cayman Islands Homebuilders/real estate companies SD CCC- Distressed exchange
3/7/21 Confidential Confidential Financial institutions D NR Confidential
3/8/21 Confidential Confidential Financial institutions D B+ Confidential
3/16/21

Ensign Drilling Inc. (Ensign Energy Services Inc.)

Canada Oil and gas SD CCC+ Distressed exchange
3/16/21

HighPoint Resources Corp.

U.S. Oil and gas D CC Chapter 11
3/17/21

Washington Prime Group Inc.

U.S. Homebuilders/real estate companies D CC Missed interest payments
3/18/21 Confidential Confidential Consumer products D CCC Confidential
3/23/21

AI Mistral Holdco Ltd.

U.K. Transportation SD CCC+ Distressed exchange
3/26/21

Avation PLC

U.K. Transportation SD CC Distressed exchange
4/13/21

YPF Energia Electrica S.A. (YPF S.A)

Argentina Utilities SD CCC- Distressed exchange
4/14/21

ION Geophysical Corp.

U.S. Oil and gas SD CC Distressed exchange
4/15/21

Summit Midstream Partners, LP

U.S. Midstream SD CC Distressed exchange
4/16/21

Basic Energy Services Inc.

U.S. Oil and gas D CCC- Missed interest payments
4/19/21

Medical Depot Holdings Inc.

U.S. Health care SD CCC+ Distressed exchange
4/19/21

Serta Simmons Bedding LLC

U.S. Consumer products SD CC Distressed exchange
4/23/21

Isagenix Worldwide, Inc

U.S. Consumer products SD CCC Distressed exchange
4/26/21 Confidential Confidential High technology SD CCC+ Confidential
4/27/21

Maxcom Telecomunicaciones S.A.B. de C.V.

Mexico Telecommunications D CCC- Missed interest payments
4/28/21

Future Retail Ltd.

India Retail/restaurants SD CCC- Distressed exchange
4/28/21 Confidential Confidential Consumer products SD CCC- Confidential
4/30/21

Codere S.A.

Spain Media and entertainment SD CC Distressed exchange
5/3/21 Confidential Confidential Transportation D CC Confidential
5/10/21

gategroup Holding AG

Switzerland Transportation SD CCC Distressed exchange
5/10/21

Voyager Aviation Holdings LLC

U.S. Transportation SD CC Distressed exchange
5/14/21

CDRH Parent Inc.

U.S. Health care D CC Distressed exchange
5/19/21

Boart Longyear Ltd.

Australia Metals, mining, and steel D CC Bankruptcy
5/25/21 Confidential Confidential Homebuilders/real estate companies D CCC- Confidential
6/3/21

Peabody Energy Corp.*

U.S. Metals, mining, and steel SD CCC+ Distressed exchange
6/23/21

Carlson Travel Inc

U.S. Media and entertainment D CCC Missed interest payments
6/23/21 Confidential Confidential Consumer products D CCC- Confidential
7/1/21

GTT Communications Inc.

U.S. Telecommunications SD CCC- Missed interest payments
7/8/21

KCIBT Holdings L.P.

U.S. Consumer products SD CCC Distressed exchange
7/9/21

Joye Media SLU

Spain Media and entertainment D CCC- Missed interest payments
7/12/21

Peabody Energy Corp.*

U.S. Metals, mining, and steel SD CCC Distressed exchange
7/13/21

Sichuan Languang Development Co. Ltd.

China Homebuilders/real estate companies D CCC- Missed bond repayment
7/20/21

Alpha Holding S.A. de C.V.

Mexico Financial institutions D CC Missed interest payments
7/30/21

Comdata Spa

Italy Financial institutions SD CC Distressed exchange
8/3/21 Confidential Confidential Transportation SD CC Confidential
8/9/21

Glass Mountain Pipeline LLC

U.S. Utilities D CC Missed interest payments
8/11/21

Sunshine 100 China Holdings Ltd.§

Cayman Islands Homebuilders/real estate companies SD CCC- Missed bond repayment
8/13/21

CLISA-Compania Latinoamericana de Infraestructura & Servicios S.A.

Argentina Capital goods SD CC Distressed exchange
9/21/21

Array Marketing Canada Inc.

Canada Consumer products SD CCC Distressed exchange
9/29/21 Confidential Confidential Financial institutions D B- Confidential
10/4/21

IPC Corp.

U.S. Telecommunications SD CCC- Distressed exchange
10/5/21

Fantasia Holdings Group Co. Ltd.§

Cayman Islands Homebuilders/real estate companies SD CCC Missed bond repayment
10/15/21 Confidential Confidential Homebuilders/real estate companies SD CC Confidential
10/19/21

Sinic Holdings (Group) Co. Ltd.§

Cayman Islands Homebuilders/real estate companies SD CC Missed bond repayment
11/2/21

Exela Technologies Inc.

U.S. Media and entertainment SD CCC- Distressed exchange
11/11/21

Investimentos e Participacoes em Infraestrutura S.A. - Invepar

Brazil Utility D CC Distressed exchange
11/17/21

Riverbed Parent Inc.

U.S. High Technology D CC Chapter 11
12/6/21

China Aoyuan Group Ltd.

Cayman Islands Homebuilders/real estate companies SD CCC Missed principal payments
12/8/21 Confidential Confidential Capital goods D CCC+ Confidential
NR--Not rated. SD--Selective default. Data as of Dec. 8, 2021. Sources: S&P Global Ratings Research and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s CreditPro®. *Indicates the issuer defaulted multiple times in 2021. §Sunshine 100 China Holdings Ltd., Fantasia Holdings Group Co. Ltd., and Sinic Holdings (Group) Co. Ltd. are incorporated in the Cayman Islands but invest, develop, and manage real estate properties in the People’s Republic of China. Companies incorporated in the Cayman Islands are included in the U.S. default rate computation due to the location as a U.S. tax haven.

Related Research

Default Studies

More analysis and statistics are available in our annual default studies, published on RatingsDirect:

Corporate (financial and nonfinancial)
Structured finance
U.S. public finance
Sovereign and international public finance

This report does not constitute a rating action.

Credit Markets Research:Nicole Serino, New York + 1 (212) 438 1396;
nicole.serino@spglobal.com
Secondary Contact:Patrick Drury Byrne, Dublin (00353) 1 568 0605;
patrick.drurybyrne@spglobal.com
Research Contributor:Yogesh Kumar, CRISIL Global Analytical Center, an S&P affiliate, Mumbai

No content (including ratings, credit-related analyses and data, valuations, model, software, or other application or output therefrom) or any part thereof (Content) may be modified, reverse engineered, reproduced, or distributed in any form by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC or its affiliates (collectively, S&P). The Content shall not be used for any unlawful or unauthorized purposes. S&P and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees, or agents (collectively S&P Parties) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or availability of the Content. S&P Parties are not responsible for any errors or omissions (negligent or otherwise), regardless of the cause, for the results obtained from the use of the Content, or for the security or maintenance of any data input by the user. The Content is provided on an “as is” basis. S&P PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE, FREEDOM FROM BUGS, SOFTWARE ERRORS OR DEFECTS, THAT THE CONTENT’S FUNCTIONING WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, OR THAT THE CONTENT WILL OPERATE WITH ANY SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE CONFIGURATION. In no event shall S&P Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs or losses caused by negligence) in connection with any use of the Content even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

Credit-related and other analyses, including ratings, and statements in the Content are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact. S&P’s opinions, analyses, and rating acknowledgment decisions (described below) are not recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions, and do not address the suitability of any security. S&P assumes no obligation to update the Content following publication in any form or format. The Content should not be relied on and is not a substitute for the skill, judgment, and experience of the user, its management, employees, advisors, and/or clients when making investment and other business decisions. S&P does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor except where registered as such. While S&P has obtained information from sources it believes to be reliable, S&P does not perform an audit and undertakes no duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives. Rating-related publications may be published for a variety of reasons that are not necessarily dependent on action by rating committees, including, but not limited to, the publication of a periodic update on a credit rating and related analyses.

To the extent that regulatory authorities allow a rating agency to acknowledge in one jurisdiction a rating issued in another jurisdiction for certain regulatory purposes, S&P reserves the right to assign, withdraw, or suspend such acknowledgement at any time and in its sole discretion. S&P Parties disclaim any duty whatsoever arising out of the assignment, withdrawal, or suspension of an acknowledgment as well as any liability for any damage alleged to have been suffered on account thereof.

S&P keeps certain activities of its business units separate from each other in order to preserve the independence and objectivity of their respective activities. As a result, certain business units of S&P may have information that is not available to other S&P business units. S&P has established policies and procedures to maintain the confidentiality of certain nonpublic information received in connection with each analytical process.

S&P may receive compensation for its ratings and certain analyses, normally from issuers or underwriters of securities or from obligors. S&P reserves the right to disseminate its opinions and analyses. S&P's public ratings and analyses are made available on its Web sites, www.spglobal.com/ratings (free of charge), and www.ratingsdirect.com (subscription), and may be distributed through other means, including via S&P publications and third-party redistributors. Additional information about our ratings fees is available at www.spglobal.com/usratingsfees.

 

Create a free account to unlock the article.

Gain access to exclusive research, events and more.

Already have an account?    Sign in