- No. 1 carrier has $110 billion in debt and dividend obligation
- Move could create asset-backed market for phone payments
Verizon Communications Inc., the largest U.S. wireless provider, may sell bonds backed by the payments its customers owe for financing phones.
While other companies such as Sprint Corp. have used the technique to obtain private loans, Verizon would be one of the first wireless carriers to issue bonds that use expected monthly phone payments from its customers as collateral. The company is looking into the option because U.S. banks have limited capacity to purchase such payments, Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said at an investor conference Tuesday.
There’s a “lower cost of capital” in this market, Shammo said. Verizon has talked to credit rating companies about the idea and expects to announce next steps in the first half of the year, he said.
Scott Moritz | Bloomberg Business