In line with the explosion of mergers and acquisitions, structured debt issuance jumped sharply in the first half of 2021. According to an analysis by S&P Ratings, new structured debt issuance in the first six months of the year increased by 60% compared to the same period last year, exceeding projections and reaching US$685 billion. This figure also represents a 30% increase over the first half of 2019. With this result, S&P Ratings projects that the year will end with approximately $1.4 trillion in new structured debt issuance, the highest volume in real terms since the Great Recession.

Latin America has not been immune to this trend and also exceeded S&P Ratings' expectations, with a volume of US$10 billion in the first half of the year. Brazil accounts for the bulk of the activity, and the agency expects it to continue to show dynamism in the second half of the year given favorable interest rate conditions. S&P Ratings raised its forecast for structured debt issuance in Latin America for 2021 by 20%, bringing it to US$17.5 billion.