Credit and leverage
Korea AA- Credit Spread 3Y
The Korean AA- 3-year corporate bond yield minus the 3-year treasury yield. This spread is the risk premium on high-grade corporate funding and the standard thermometer of stress in Korea's credit market, widening when funding conditions tighten.
At a glance
Korea AA- Credit Spread 3Y: latest value and prior change
As of 2026-09-07, Korea AA- Credit Spread 3Y is 0.68 pp. It is 0.01 pp lower than 0.68 pp on 2026-09-04.
Within the default comparison window of 1,000 observations from 2022-08-09 to 2026-09-07, the latest value is at the tie-adjusted 56th percentile. Available history covers 2014-01-02 to 2026-09-07 with 3,124 observations.
- Observed on
- Default comparison window
- 2022-08-09–2026-09-07
- Observations · observed cadence
- 1,000 · Daily
- Data source
- Bank of Korea ECOS
A high or low percentile does not by itself make the indicator positive, negative, or a buy or sell signal.
Time-series chart
Korea AA- Credit Spread 3Y
2014-01-02–2026-09-07
Long-history series are stored as real provider observations. Index, FX, VIX, and ratio charts use historical backfill where providers expose it; Korean investor flow and margin-credit feeds expand as stable historical endpoints become available.
Recent observations and calculated changes
The ten latest chart observations. Change subtracts the previous observation; intervals vary with holidays, release schedules and missing data. A difference in rates or ratios is not an investment return.
| Observed | Value | Previous date | Difference (current − previous) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-07 | 0.68 pp | 2026-09-04 | -0.01 pp |
| 2026-09-04 | 0.68 pp | 2026-09-03 | 0.00 pp |
| 2026-09-03 | 0.68 pp | 2026-09-02 | 0.01 pp |
| 2026-09-02 | 0.67 pp | 2026-09-01 | -0.00 pp |
| 2026-09-01 | 0.67 pp | 2026-08-31 | -0.01 pp |
| 2026-08-31 | 0.68 pp | 2026-08-28 | -0.01 pp |
| 2026-08-28 | 0.69 pp | 2026-08-27 | -0.01 pp |
| 2026-08-27 | 0.69 pp | 2026-08-26 | 0.01 pp |
| 2026-08-26 | 0.68 pp | 2026-08-25 | -0.00 pp |
| 2026-08-25 | 0.69 pp | 2026-08-24 | 0.00 pp |
Source: Bank of Korea ECOS
Interpretation guide
The Korea AA- credit spread: the benchmark thermometer of the credit market
The AA- spread is the AA- 3-year corporate bond yield minus the 3-year treasury yield. AA- is the reference grade of Korea's corporate bond market, so this spread shows how much extra even high-grade issuers pay to borrow — the standard thermometer of Korean credit stress.
What it means
A widening spread means investors demand more risk compensation even from quality names. Because it is the gap against treasuries rather than the yield level itself, it isolates credit-market tension from the monetary-policy cycle.
- A gently narrowing spread marks a normal, settled credit market.
- The spread widening despite policy cuts means easing is not reaching the credit market.
- Abrupt widening over weeks — as in the 2022 Legoland crisis — signaled systemic funding stress.
Interpretation rules
The AA- spread only tells its full story next to the BBB- spread. Risk aversion hits BBB- first and hardest, with AA- reacting later; when even AA- widens, caution has spread to quality paper — a much heavier signal.
- BBB- widening while AA- holds is selective caution confined to lower grades.
- AA- and BBB- widening together reads as risk aversion across the whole credit market.
- A turn toward narrowing flags recovering bond demand and early risk-appetite repair.
How to apply it
This spread often shows funding conditions turning half a beat before equities do. It is most useful as background for sectors that live on borrowed money — real-estate project finance, construction, and brokerages.
- In widening phases, hold funding-dependent sectors at a conservative weight.
- The inflection where widening stops and reverses is one input for re-entering risk.
- Read it with CP rates and bank debenture spreads to see whether stress has reached short-term funding.