Monthly review for commercial paper and medium-term note market - September 2026
Published on 16th of October 2026
At the end of September 2026, the total outstanding amounts of the NEU CP and NEU MTN markets stood at €341.3bn. The overall market declined slightly compared with the previous month (-1.1%, or -€3.7bn) and on a year-on-year basis (-0.7%). NEU CP outstanding amounts, representing 84.1% of total outstandings, reached €287.2bn (-2.5% month-on-month; -6.1% year-on-year), while NEU MTN outstanding amounts stood at €54.1bn, posting strong growth (+7.1% month-on-month; +43.8% year-on-year).
Financial issuers (including securitisation vehicles): NEU CP issuance volumes by the financial sector decreased in September 2026, reaching €115.8bn compared with €120.7bn in the previous month. The average maturity of issuances (weighted by volume issued) increased to 67 days, from 48 days in August. Outstanding amounts declined slightly to €212bn (-1.2% month-on-month). The average residual maturity of outstanding amounts stood at 149 days, broadly unchanged from the previous month (146 days). As regards issuance conditions, average rates are rising significantly across the entire yield curve, against a backdrop of both a 25 basis point rise in the ECB’s key interest rates (which came into effect on 16 September) and expectations of further rate rises in the coming months (for the record, a study on the pass-through of monetary policy to NEU CP market rates is available here). Issuance spreads remained stable throughout September.
Non-financial issuers: following the trough observed in August, NEU CP issuance volumes increased sharply in September 2026, reaching €30.2bn compared with €19.4bn in August. Outstanding amounts decreased to €59.7bn from €62.0bn in the previous month (-3.8% month-on-month). The average initial maturity of issuances rose to 72 days, from 53 days in August. As regards issuance terms, in the context described above, the rates offered by corporate issuers are also rising across the entire yield curve. Issuance spreads were broadly stable in September.
Public issuers: NEU CP issuance volumes by the public sector declined in September 2026 to their lowest level in the past twelve months, reaching €3.1bn compared with €6.1bn in the previous month. At the same time, NEU MTN issuance volumes increased sharply over the month, amounting to €2.25bn. The average initial maturity of issuances rose to 108 days, from 56 days in August. NEU CP outstanding amounts decreased to €15.5bn, compared with €17.8bn in the previous month (-13% month-on-month). The average residual maturity of outstanding amounts stood at 92 days, compared with 82 days in August. Average issuance yields increased across the whole curve.
ESG: outstanding amounts under ESG-labelled programmes stood at €21.1bn at the end of September 2026, compared with €19.2bn in the previous month, representing an increase of €1.8bn (+9.4%) over the month
