Goldman Sachs Group - Annualized default rate for March was an “eye-popping” 19.4 percent

Default Rates Reach ‘Eye-Popping’ Levels in March, Goldman Says

By Paul Armstrong

April 27 (Bloomberg) -- The three-month moving average for high-yield debt defaults is about 14 percent, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., in line with the bank’s annual forecast for 2009. The annualized default rate for March was an “eye-popping” 19.4 percent, the bank said in a report dated April 24.

“Equally eye-popping are recovery rates, where default losses for unsecured bonds continue to realize at levels below our forecast of 12.5 percent,” Goldman analysts said in the report.

Last Updated: April 27, 2009 02:59 EDT