Cravath Publishes Finance & Capital Markets Quarterly Review for Q2 2026 

On September 9, 2026, Cravath published the latest edition of its Finance & Capital Markets Quarterly Review, which provides insight into practical points, key takeaways and relevant developments related to the bond, equity and loan markets and restructuring activity during the second quarter of 2026. Highlights from this edition include:

MARKET TRENDS

• U.S. financing activity in Q2 2026 generally increased compared to Q1 2026. Total proceeds from U.S. high-yield bond issuances were up 56.3%, IPO proceeds rose more than 10 times (driven by several large mega-listings) and follow-on equity offering proceeds were up 69.9%. Investment-grade bond issuances declined 20.9% quarter-over-quarter, although proceeds remained substantial at $482.9 billion. In the leveraged loan market, quarter-over-quarter issuances decreased by 20.2%, with average yields dropping 40.2 basis points.
• Year-over-year trends for Q2 2026 relative to Q2 2025 were broadly positive. Total proceeds increased across high-yield bond issuances, investment-grade bond issuances, IPOs and follow-on equity offerings, with particularly strong growth in equity capital markets activity. Leveraged loan issuances rose 3.6%, with average yield dropping 142.8 basis points over the same period.
• Treasury yields rose across maturities during the second quarter of 2026, with the 5-year, 10-year and 30-year yields increasing relative to both Q1 2026 and Q2 2025 levels, leading to a higher rate environment heading into Q3.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS 

• The SEC published its 2026 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions on July 7, 2026, centering on digital assets, measures to encourage IPOs and expanded retail access to private markets.
• The SEC's Division of Corporation Finance granted an exemptive order on June 30, 2026, expanding the availability of five-business-day tender and exchange offers for non-convertible debt securities, replacing the SEC staff's 2015 no-action position.
• The SEC proposed amendments to broaden access to registered public offerings by removing the 12-month reporting-history requirement and $75 million public-float threshold for Form S-3 shelf registration, a change the SEC estimates would increase eligible public companies by more than 60%.
• The SEC proposed amendments that would move public companies toward a two-category filer status system of large accelerated filers and non-accelerated filers. The SEC estimates roughly 81% of current public companies would qualify as non-accelerated filers, which would significantly simplify the public company reporting and reduce executive compensation disclosure obligations for these issuers.
• The grandfathering exception under Article 21c of the European Union’s sixth Capital Requirements Directive (“CRD VI”) ended on July 10, 2026. Starting on July 11, 2026, non-EU banks that enter into contracts to provide “core banking services” to EU borrowers are required to comply with the branch establishment requirements under Article 21c. 

Please click here to read the full report.