US Corporate Leverage Has Surpassed 2008 Highs

Cheap money has made borrowing easy and US corporations have taken full advantage of the cheap cost of capital. Citigroup says the bull story for credit rests on the Fed's Janet Yellen's dovish outlook and the ECB's Draghi buying Investment Grade rated credit in Europe.
Citigroup produced two amazing charts on Wednesday showing Investment Grade and High Yield Corp Debt leverage has surpassed the highs of 2008, which contradicts claims that the system has deleveraged since 2008.

The decline in YoY revenue growth for US corporations coupled with the cheap cost of borrowing has driven investors to load up on High Yield and Investment Grade debt. Since the start of the year iShares iBoxx High Yield Corp. Bond ETF HYG has appreciated nearly 6 percent has investors pile into debt on the hopes that central banks will backstop any declines.