UK Capital Issuance Statistics - February 2026

Bank of England News

Published March 26th, 2026

Detected March 26th, 2026

Summary

The Bank of England reported that UK capital issuance in February 2026 was £68.4 billion, a decrease from £70.8 billion in January, primarily due to lower commercial paper issuance. Net issuance also saw a slight reduction to £16.4 billion. Bond issuance increased, while equity issuance remained low.

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What changed

The Bank of England has published its capital issuance statistics for February 2026. Gross capital issuance by UK residents decreased to £68.4 billion from £70.8 billion in January, largely driven by a fall in commercial paper issuance. Net issuance also declined slightly to £16.4 billion. However, bond issuance saw an increase in both gross and net terms.

These statistics provide an overview of finance raised by UK resident entities through non-government primary market issuance of bonds, commercial paper, and equity. While this is a statistical release and does not impose new direct obligations, compliance officers in financial institutions should be aware of these trends as they may inform market analysis and risk assessments related to capital raising activities.

Source document (simplified)

Capital Issuance - February 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

26 March 2026

Key points

Gross capital issuance by UK residents was £68.4 billion in February, compared to £70.8 billion in January and the previous six-month average of £58.1 billion (Chart 1).
The fall in gross capital issuance was primarily driven by a decrease in commercial paper issuance, which fell from £35.7 billion in January to £31.0 billion in February (Chart 1).
Net issuance was £16.4 billion in February, compared to £17.2 billion in January and the previous six-month average of £2.6 billion (Chart 1). 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 £68.4 billion in February, compared to £70.8 billion in January and the previous six-month average of £58.1 billion (Chart 1).
Net issuance was £16.4 billion in February, compared to £17.2 billion in January and the previous six-month average of £2.6 billion (Chart 1).
Year to date gross issuance was £139.1 billion, £7.1 billion lower than at the same point the previous year (Chart 2). This is £30.6 billion higher than the previous four-year average.
Year to date net issuance was £33.6 billion, £12.8 billion higher than at the same point the previous year (Chart 3). This is £24.4 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 £37.1 billion in February, compared to £34.9 billion in January and the previous six-month average of £29.9 billion (Chart 4).
Net bond issuance was £16.3 billion in February, compared to £11.1 billion in January and the previous six-month average of £4.1 billion (Chart 4).
The rise in net issuance was driven by an increase in gross issuance of £6.3 billion and £2.2 billion by the MFI and PNFC sectors, respectively.

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

Non seasonally adjusted

Commercial paper issuance

Gross commercial paper issuance was £31.0 billion in February, compared to £35.7 billion in January and the previous six-month average of £27.6 billion (Chart 5).
Net commercial paper issuance was £3.0 billion in February, compared to £9.5 billion in January and the previous six-month average of £2.0 billion (Chart 5).
The fall in net issuance was driven by a decrease in MFI gross issuance of £4.2 billion, combined with an increase in PNFC repayments of £1.2 billion.

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

Non seasonally adjusted

Equity issuance

Gross equity issuance was £0.3 billion in February, compared to £0.1 billion in January and the previous six-month average of £0.6 billion (Chart 6).
Net equity issuance was -£3.0 billion in February, compared to -£3.3 billion in January and the previous six-month average of -£3.5 billion (Chart 6).
The rise in net equity issuance was driven by a £0.2 billion decrease in PNFC buybacks, combined with an increase in gross issuance of £0.1 billion by the PNFC and OFC sector respectively.

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