Global debt markets face increasing pressures from sustained fiscal deficits, rising interest costs and investment needs, a structural decline in long-term demand, and growing refinancing risks as the maturity of issuance shortens. Yet they remained resilient in 2025 as liquidity conditions improved, volatility moderated and new debt supply was absorbed smoothly. The risks continue to build, however, not only from ever higher borrowing requirements and elevated yields, but also from a changing investor base. This may render debt markets more exposed to periods of stress. The third edition of the Global Debt Report analyses the latest trends in global sovereign and corporate debt markets up to the end of 2025. It also looks at the shifts in the investor base for government and corporate bonds since 2007, with a focus on the post-2022 period, exploring the drivers behind these shifts and the implications. The opening remarks and presentation of the report will be followed by a Q&A session with media.

Sovereign bond markets continued to be impacted by rising issuance volumes in 2025, with a growing role for more price-sensitive investors. Both leveraged funds and foreign entities are now the marginal buyers in certain key markets. At the same time, the implications of current fiscal trajectories for debt sustainability are a concern. This, along with changing preferences from important investor groups, has led to higher long-term yields even as policy rates have continued to fall. This session will explore the latest trends in sovereign bond markets, which are currently absorbing near record levels of net issuance. As many investors’ appetite and ability to buy is stretched, new buyers have emerged, bringing much needed liquidity which has supported sovereign issuers, particularly around auctions and syndications. However, their growing role, particularly of leveraged and foreign buyers, could pose risks to market stability. The session will also assess how sovereign issuers are adapting to this changing investor base, what it means for their issuance strategies, and the trade-off they must make between cost and risk.

Up until the inflation shock of 2022, corporate debt had seen sustained growth around the world for two decades on the back of exceptionally accommodative financial conditions. While inflation has mostly come back down since, the easy monetary policy that preceded it will likely not return. Companies now need to adjust to a new reality of higher costs of debt in an environment characterised by novel macroeconomic uncertainties, and while carrying a significant debt stock that in large part has been used for financial operations rather than to finance real investment. This session will address the outlook for corporate debt markets, including corporate bond and private credit, potential risks ahead, and the role of financial policy in ensuring debt sustainability and the productive allocation of capital. It will look at how these markets have changed in terms of participants, risk-taking and infrastructure, and what the implications are for market functioning. This session will address the outlook for corporate debt markets, including corporate bond and private credit, potential risks ahead, and the role of financial policy in ensuring debt sustainability and the productive allocation of capital. It will look at how these markets have changed in terms of participants, risk-taking and infrastructure, and what the implications are for market functioning.

Many EMDE sovereign bond markets performed strongly in 2025. Local bond markets proved resilient, whilst the spreads on foreign currency bonds tightened to near all-time lows. Many issuers have continued to develop their local bond markets, prioritising local currency issuance to reduce currency risk, and drawing in new investors to support liquidity. This strong performance has also begun to be reflected in credit ratings, with a general drift higher for EMDEs in 2024 and 2025. However, the picture is mixed between regions and income groups, with larger, higher income EMDEs generally faring better, while the outlook for countries with smaller domestic markets, particularly in the world’s poorest regions, remains challenging. This session will examine the underlying factors behind the performance of EMDE bond markets overall, as well as the divergence between countries, regions and income groups. It will also assess if this momentum can continue in 2026 and how much is driven by factors outside of EMDEs. The session will also consider the implications of this trend and what further steps sovereign issuers can take to strengthen the resilience of their debt portfolios.