Capital Issuance - March 2026

The capital issuance statistics consist of non-government primary market issuance of bonds, commercial paper and equity, representing finance raised by UK resident entities.
Published on 29 April 2026

Key points

  • Gross capital issuance by UK residents was £72.3 billion in March, compared to £68.4 billion in February and the previous six-month average of £60.7 billion (Chart 1).
  • Net capital issuance was -£10.7 billion in March, compared to £16.4 billion in February and the previous six-month average of £6.1 billion (Chart 1).
  • The fall in net capital issuance was driven by an increase of £31.0 billion in gross repayments, which more than offset the £4.0 billion increase in gross issuance during the month and is the highest repayment level seen since these data began being published by the Bank of England (hereafter referred to as the ‘Bank’).

In addition to the summary statistics contained within this release and the associated tables, the Bank publishes a number of more granular series; please see our Bankstats tables (E3.1) and the full list of series and interactive charts.

All sectors

  • Gross capital issuance by UK residents was £72.3 billion in March, compared to £68.4 billion in February and the previous six-month average of £60.7 billion (Chart 1).
  • Net issuance was -£10.7 billion in March, compared to £16.4 billion in February and the previous six-month average of £6.1 billion (Chart 1).
  • Year to date gross issuance was £211.5 billion, £2.0 billion higher than at the same point the previous year (Chart 2). This is £41.3 billion higher than the previous four-year average.
  • Year to date net issuance was £22.9 billion, £0.4 billion higher than at the same point the previous year (Chart 3). This is £9.7 billion higher than the previous four-year average.

Chart 1: Total capital issuance by UK residents (all currencies)

Non seasonally adjusted

Chart 2: Gross year to date capital issuance by UK residents (all currencies)

Non seasonally adjusted

Chart 3: Net year to date capital issuance by UK residents (all currencies)

Non seasonally adjusted

Bond issuance

  • Gross bond issuance was £38.5 billion in March, compared to £37.1 billion in February and the previous six-month average of £32.3 billion (Chart 4).
  • Net bond issuance was -£4.8 billion in March, compared to £16.3 billion in February and the previous six-month average of £7.0 billion (Chart 4).
  • The reduction in net bond issuance was driven by an increase in gross repayments of £10.4 billion and £8.7 billion by the MFI and OFC sectors, respectively.

Chart 4: Bond issuance by UK residents (all currencies)

Non seasonally adjusted

Commercial paper issuance

  • Gross commercial paper issuance was £33.5 billion in March, compared to £31.0 billion in February and the previous six-month average of £27.8 billion (Chart 5).
  • Net commercial paper issuance was -£1.2 billion in March, compared to £3.0 billion in February and the previous six-month average of £2.5 billion (Chart 5).
  • The fall in net commercial paper issuance was driven by an increase in MFI gross repayments of £4.5 billion.

Chart 5: Commercial paper issuance by UK residents (all currencies)

Non seasonally adjusted

Equity issuance

  • Gross equity issuance was £0.3 billion in March, compared to the similar level of £0.3 billion in February and the previous six-month average of £0.6 billion (Chart 6).
  • Net equity issuance was -£4.6 billion in March, compared to -£3.0 billion in February and the previous six-month average of -£3.5 billion (Chart 6).
  • The reduction in net equity issuance was driven by a £1.4 billion increase in OFC buybacks.

Chart 6: Equity issuance by UK residents (all currencies)

Non seasonally adjusted

Key:

  • PNFC = Private non-financial corporations
  • MFI = Monetary financial institutions
  • OFC = Other financial corporations
  • “Other sectors” contains public corporations and non-profit institutions serving households
  • CP = Commercial paper

Queries

If you have any comments or queries with regard to this release please email DSDSecurities@bankofengland.co.uk.

Next release date: 29 May 2026