Fitch-rated Sukuk surpass $231 billion, marking record third quarter

Fitch-rated sukuk reached $231 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2025, up 21% year over year, making July to September the most active third quarter yet for global sukuk issuance.

Fitch Ratings expects full-year 2025 sukuk issuance to exceed 2024 levels, with another strong year anticipated in 2026.

About 80% of Fitch-rated sukuk are investment grade, with no defaults, rising stars or fallen angels reported so far this year. Roughly 88% of sukuk issuers hold Stable Outlooks, while 6% are rated Negative, 3% Positive and 3% without Outlooks. Fitch covers more than 74% of the outstanding U.S. dollar sukuk market.

Approximately 97% of rated sukuk are senior unsecured, with the remainder subordinated or senior secured. The share of subordinated sukuk, especially among banks, is rising as issuers seek to meet regulatory requirements, support growth, diversify funding bases and take advantage of favorable pricing.

At the end of the third quarter, Fitch rated 275 outstanding sukuk and 98 sukuk programs. Most are in the “A” rating category (40%), followed by “BBB” (24%) and “BB” (14%). About 99% of rated sukuk carry international long-term ratings, with the rest assigned national ratings. The majority are dual-listed across major exchanges, reflecting an international investor base.

Fitch rates roughly 70% of the global hard-currency ESG sukuk market, totaling $27 billion outstanding. ESG sukuk make up about 12% of all Fitch-rated sukuk.

Medium-term sukuk, with maturities of three to 10 years, dominate the market at more than 82% of rated volumes. Long-term sukuk, those exceeding 10 years, represent 11%, while short-term sukuk of less than three years account for just 7%.

Just under one-third of rated sukuk will mature by 2027, with about 73% maturing in 2028 and beyond. Most Fitch-rated sukuk are structured as bullet payments where principal is repaid at maturitywhile only a few are amortized or perpetual. Around 98% are issued at fixed rates, with a small share carrying variable or floating rates.

Regionally, the Middle East holds the largest share of Fitch-rated sukuk at 70.6%, followed by Asia (20.4%), Europe (7.8%), Africa (0.9%) and North America (0.3%). Sovereigns and supranationals account for 54% of rated sukuk issuance, though sector diversity is increasing. Together, sovereign and supranational sukuk represent about 34.9% of total issues.

The U.S. dollar remains the dominant currency for Fitch-rated sukuk, comprising 92.7% of outstanding volumes. The Malaysian ringgit follows at 5.4%, with the remainder spread across the euro, the UAE dirham and the Indonesian rupiah.