European companies are selling the fewest bonds in six years as the sovereign crisis sidelines cash-rich treasurers increasingly wary of the region's banks.

Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest automaker, Italian power company Enel SpA and Renault SA led 80 billion euros ($107 billion) of bond sales this year, the smallest amount since 2005, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Borrowers may cut sales further next year to a euro-era record low of 70 billion euros, Societe Generale SA estimates.

European companies sitting on 540 billion euros of cash reserves, the most in at least nine years, are shunning bond markets even with yields near the lowest levels since November 2010. Investors who view corporate bonds as a haven because they're less affected by the euro-region crisis are driving yields lower, while banks are being hurt because they're the biggest holders of government securities.