Japan’s first junk bond offers yield of less than 1% - Financial Tim...

Japan’s first junk bond offers yield of less than 1%  Financial Times

A consumer loan company priced Japan’s first publicly-offered junk bond on Friday with an interest rate of just 0.99 per cent, a coupon that highlights the country’s institutional desperation for yield and the increasingly eye-catching distortions caused by the Bank of Japan’s negative interest rate policy. The bond, which was rated BB by Japan Credit Rating Agency, was issued by Aiful, a Kyoto-based consumer lender whose name was plunged into scandal more than a decade ago when it was forced to suspend operations amid accusations of strong-arm collection tactics. The company, which narrowl...