European CLOs back on track for record year, but caution remains – Global ABS panellists
Panellists at this year’s Global ABS conference in Barcelona say European CLO issuance has recovered from its April hiatus – but concerns remain, especially over lack of leveraged loan supply and deteriorating credit quality

Hayfin hires Man's former CLO PM for European high yield, loans research
Jason Late will serve as a co-portfolio manager for the European high yield and syndicated loan strategy

Volatility could cause credit markets to break this year – TCW’s Bryan Whalen
PODCAST: Investors aren’t being paid enough of a premium for the risks in US corporate credit, TCW’s chief investment officer of fixed income told Creditflux’s Lisa Lee on the latest ‘Credit Exchange’ podcast  

Buyout Highlights - Overview of Europe Buyout and Financing Trends 1Q25
Leveraged loans are again the main source of financing for LBOs in Europe, providing 65% of the total volume issued in 1Q25  

Tariffs will push up default rates for several years, say agencies and managers
After an uptick in leveraged loan defaults culled weaker credits in 2024, many expected default rates to fall in 2025. But the uncertainty stemming from the Trump administration’s tariffs means those assumptions are now under threat

Lenders hit by LMEs will eventually have to increase the cost of capital
Chipping away at what has made loans successful has a cost

Private credit’s golden era never really ended – Blackstone’s Michael Zawadzki
On the Credit Exchange podcast, Lisa Lee speaks with the CIO of Blackstone Credit and Insurance about opportunities in volatile markets and the durability of private credit premiums

Tariff headlines drive some HY auto parts names lower as Babilou loan plunges – Market Comment
Markets are down following newsflow that US President Donald Trump announced a 10% tariff on all imports into the US, with even higher rates for countries he called the “worst offenders"

Rovensa pulls EUR 1.11bn TLB amend-and-extend following 13 March commitment deadline
Portugal-based crop protection company has halted its leveraegd loan deal as market conditions worsen

Refresco halts repricing and add-on transaction as market sentiment sours
Pulls deal from syndication as recent market volatility has made the repricing difficult to execute

Investing in Europe has changed dramatically in past weeks – Apollo’s Tristram Leach
PODCAST: We're on the cusp of profound change in Europe, observes Apollo's co-head of European credit, in the latest edition of the 'Credit Exchange' podcast  

Leveraged Finance Fights Melanoma (LFFM) to hold inaugural charity event in London on 29 January
Leveraged Finance Fights Melanoma  will host an inaugural charity event in London on 29 January at the National Gallery to support the UK-based research on melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer

ICG hires Sixth Street alum Grandjean for pan-European private credit
ICG has hired Pierre Grandjean, who most recently was at Sixth Street in specialty lending, to join its European direct lending team, Senior Debt Partners

Fund performance
Entering the final three months of the year, CLO funds took a clean sweep of the top 10 spots in the Creditflux tables. October was strong overall, as over 85% of funds listed made positive returns

Altice France reminds creditors that unrestricted subsidiaries can be freely spun-off
Altice France's debt documents permit the XpFibre spin-off, and most credit agreements and high yield bond indentures permit the distribution of the equity in unrestricted subsidiaries

Apollo picks up two hires from Bank of America
Investment bankers Tomasz Gruszka and Murad Khaled have joined Apollo and an affiliate from Bank of America

BNP Paribas announces negotiations to buy AXA IM
BNP Paribas said it entered exclusive talks to buy AXA's asset management unit and set-up a partership for EUR 5.1bn

European CLOs are sticking with Altice, research finds
Altice’s debt has been one of the biggest headaches for the CLO market in Europe this year but most managers have refrained from selling the debt according to a recent research report

Strong run helps CLOs shrug off Altice downgrade
It may be the largest triple C downgrade in years, but the CLO market is relatively unperturbed by Altice’s fall from grace.

Credit hedge funds
Credit hedge fund performance

IACPM survey finds credit PMs still gloomy, but less so than last quarter
Respondents to the latest IACPM Credit Outlook Survey are still negative about future credit conditions, but less so than in previous surveys

AlbaCore expands with senior research hires
London-based AlbaCore Capital Group announced the expansion of its investment team last week, with the addition of a new Head of Research

Global Loan Highlights 1Q24: Don’t call it a comeback
Loan refinancing share hits historic high, but IG issuance stymies YoY global growth

Schroders Capital adds new global head of business development and product
Schroders Capital turned to ICG to source its newly-created role of global head of business development and product

Global corporate defaults on fastest pace since 2009 according to S&P
The number of corporate defaults has risen dramatically year-to-date, according to S&P Global Ratings, driven by a doubling of the rate of defaults in Europe