34.1% Recovery Rate on 2009 High Yield Defaults

The U.S. high yield default rate ended 2009 at 13.7% on $118.6 billion in defaults, and the year’s weighted average recovery rate was 34.1% of par for a dollar loss on the year’s bond defaults of $78 billion, according to Fitch Ratings in its outlook report. Recovery rates fluctuated dramatically over the course of the year and showed substantial variability by credit and sector.

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