With stock markets at – or close to – their all-time highs, it is tempting to assume that the corporate sector has shrugged off the credit crisis. The reality is that there will be a fallout – but it will be unevenly spread.

The era of cheap and easy credit that helped fuel corporate expansion over the past four years has ended and central banks are already openly concerned about the consequences. The US Federal Reserve dramatically cut rates by 50 basis points last month. The Bank of England had warned that companies would be hit by higher borrowing costs, with a recent survey finding that the most common fixed-rate corporate loans saw average interest rates rise by 41 basis points between July and August.