Corporate bond mobilisation falls 8.4% in FY26, first decline in four years: Sebi

Fund mobilisation through the Indian corporate bond market declined 8.4 per cent to Rs 9.1 lakh crore in 2025-26, marking the first contraction since 2021-22, according to the Sebi annual report.

Despite the decline in overall fundraising, the market remained active, with the number of corporate bond issuances increasing to 1,967 during FY26, reflecting continued issuer participation, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) report said.

Development of the corporate bond market has been a policy priority for many years and experts have been opining that India cannot grow only on the back of bank funding. While the issuances had been growing for the last few years, private placements of bonds, limited secondary market activity and the propensity to raise money from the route only by the well-rated entities had been flagged as challenges.


Resource mobilisation through public issuances increased by 39.2 per cent to Rs 11,343 crore, but the overall market remained skewed towards private placements, which accounted for 98.8 per cent of the total funds mobilised.

The fund was raised through 43 public issues, comprising 40 from the financial sector and three from the non-financial sector entities.

Size-wise comparison shows that 50.1 per cent of the total funds were mobilised through issues ranging between Rs 100 crore and Rs 500 crore. ​ Similarly, issues exceeding Rs 500 crore accounted for 41.6 per cent of the total funds mobilised, the report said.

Of the total Rs 11,343 crore raised through public debt issue, Rs 5,679 crore was mobilised between Rs 100-Rs 500 crore size, followed by Rs 4,722 crore mobilised above Rs 500 crore size.

The value of corporate bond trades settled through clearing corporations ICCL and NCL rose 27.9 per cent to Rs 21.2 lakh crore in 2025-26 from Rs 16.6 lakh crore in the previous financial year, indicating stronger secondary market activity despite a decline in overall fund mobilisation.

Listed corporate bonds continued to dominate the segment, accounting for 89.5 per cent of the traded value, as per the report.

Mutual funds further strengthened their position as the largest participants in the corporate bond market, with their share in turnover rising to 32.1 per cent in 2025-26 from 29 per cent a year earlier. In contrast, the market shares of banks and corporates declined to 18.7 per cent and 9.4 per cent, respectively, from 21.1 per cent and 9.8 per cent in 2024-25, the report added.

On the municipal bonds front, the annual report said, civic bodies raised Rs 1,756 crore in FY26 through 14 issuances. This is significantly higher than Rs 100 crore raised in FY25, Rs 500 crore in FY24 and Rs 244 crore in FY23.

The regulator said that increased traction was supported by Sebi's targeted outreach through four municipal bond awareness programmes during the year. Further, the value of CPs (commercial paper) listed on exchanges increased by 7.8 per cent to Rs 16,68,834 crore in 2025-26, compared to Rs 15,48,091 crore in 2024-25, the report added.