Introduction to the special issue: Opportunities and challenges post recent financial crisis

We study interest rate sensitivities of U.S. investment grade BBB-rated and high yield corporate bonds over the period of 2001–2016. Our methodology assesses the capital gains of corporate bond portfolios and risk-free government bond portfolios, using average coupon and blended yield indices for the U.S. market. For both, U.S. BBB and high yield corporate bonds, we evidence the switching, from positive to negative interest rate sensitivity, occurring over the transition from the normal economic conditions to the periods of economic distress and vice-versa. The proposed theoretical explanation of such binary behavior posits an interrelation between interest rate and creditworthiness of issuers, which varies according to the phases of the business cycle. This research advances an economic understanding of interest rate risk management and sheds light on how financial institutions may develop strategies that hedge against downside risk.