Credit Market Calm Is at Odds With High Default Risk, Schwab’s Martin Says

Overview

Credit markets are rallying but there’s elevated risk of some companies not repaying debt, according to the Schwab Center for Financial Research. “There’s a sense of complacency,” Collin Martin, the firm’s fixed-income strategist, tells Bloomberg News’ James Crombie and Bloomberg Intelligence’s Himanshu Bakshi in the latest episode of the Credit Edge podcast. “Defaults are probably going to stay high,” says Martin, noting low interest coverage ratios among the weakest borrowers. Martin and Bakshi also discuss private credit risk, floating-rate and preferred debt opportunities, and the impact of trade wars on consumer confidence.