The percentage of syndicated loans that have short-term maturities of between one and three years has rocketed to half of global volumes so far this year, in a sure sign of how banks, many of which have suffered multi-billion dollar losses, have been forced to reduce their risk exposure to the corporate sector.

According to research from Dealogic, the financial data provider, syndicated loan facilities with such short-term maturities account for 50% of global volumes this year, marking a sharp increase compared to year ago, when one to three-year loans accounted for some 28% of the total volume.