Affinion skipped interest payment impacts small number of CLOs
Only two CLO managers could be affected by the debt of Affinion Group, who skipped its scheduled 19 Feb interest payment ($22.2 million) to its first-lien 2022 term loan holders 

Loan sell-off leaves some CLO warehouses out of the money
The December sell-off in the loan market may have been good for CLO equity but it left many warehouses out of the money, according to several sources

CLOs are not like CDOs, says Barclays, but warns of loan quality impact
CLOs are far removed from the kinds of structured products that contributed to the 2008/09 global financial crisis, Barclays has argued in a wide-ranging research piece this week

Podcast: Secondary loans rebound, CLOs widen and covenants deteriorate
Creditflux, Debtwire and Xtract discuss the current state of the market  

First Data takeover foreshadows inflows for CLOs that hold the debt
CLO managers that hold portions of First Data Corporation’s $11.5 billion syndicated term debt could find themselves with lots of cash to redeploy later this year if Fiserv completes its acquisition of the financial services company

JP Morgan makes big hire to its global credit trading desk
An experienced banker who has covered CLOs, CSOs, loan TRS and credit derivatives, has joined JP Morgan after leaving BNP Paribas 

CLO issuance will temper as market remains in 'exploratory mode', notes BAML research
Following a bout of volatility in the loan market, CLO issuance will be tempered as debt and equity investors rediscover correct pricing levels, according to a new research paper published this week by Bank of America Merrill Lynch

CLOs can survive defaults, but it could be death by triple Cs
Covenant deterioration in the leveraged loan market has caused sleepless nights for CLO managers who worry that when defaults start to rise, recovery rates will be lower than in past downturns. But market participants are expressing concern that ratings, rather than defaults, pose a greater risk to the market

Loan rout gifts CLOs a par-building Christmas present
Correction time is here, as Charlie Brown once (almost) sang, building par and cheer. Fun for all that managers call their favourite time to... deal

Deutsche Bank refinances CLO backed with trade finance assets
Deutsche Bank has brought a $3.5 billion CLO backed by trade finance that includes a first-loss piece issued at par

Pro Mach packs biggest punch for CLOs as lev loan index takes a tumble
 The US manufacturer's $819 million Term Loan B, due March 2025, dropped 0.76% on Monday from Friday’s close

Till debt us do part: CLOs have and hold David's Bridal loans as they plummet 10.87%
CLOs hold $26.63 million exposure to David’s Bridal, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday

US clothing brand default leaves CLOs exposed
As many as 100 CLOs are among the holders of debt issued by FullBeauty, which defaulted on 31 October on an interest payment to its $345 million second lien loans  

Kicking the tyres: CLOs survive examination as bankruptcies tick higher
US CLOs are weathering the turbulence triggered by a couple of bankruptcies in the broadly syndicated loan universe, namely US retailer Sears and American Tire Distributors. Those bankruptcies, filed on 15 and 4 October, respectively, have failed to dent CLO structures

BlueMountain hires ex-Deutsche levloan and high yield analyst
The new hire will support portfolio managers responsible for the firm's investments in CLOs

LSTA asks for return of CLO bond buckets as part of Volcker reform
The Loan Syndication and Trading Association is advocating the return of high yield bond baskets within US CLO portfolios in what could be another sign of the shackles being loosened on CLO regulation in the US

CLO market gauges counterparty risk as it predicts economic cycle will turn
Credit is showing symptoms of a cycle in its latter stages, according to CLO market participants. While this makes loan and manager selection important, participants are increasingly focusing on counterparty risk.

Tetragon confirms appointment of former BlackRock US CLO co-head Snell
Scott Snell, former head of BlackRock's US CLO unit, has joined Tetragon 

Xtract: CLOs may be further squeezed by one-week Libor Election
There are 30 loans which could, at the drop of a hat, switch to one-week Libor benchmarks, according to a report by Xtract Research

Experienced CLO specialist joins Pretium
Pretium Partners moved into CLO management a year ago and now has $2 billion in AUM in this space thanks to a couple of acquisitions. It has now hired a portfolio manager to deal with the additional AUM

Investors debate merits of bond buckets as regulators revisit Volcker rule
CLOs with bond buckets could return in the US as federal agencies have signalled their willingness to roll back certain parts of the Volcker rule

The expanding middle
Our analysis of mid market CLOs reveals that managers have distinguished themselves with the overlap between mid market US CLO portfolios being approximately 5%

Term structure is being developed for floating rate benchmark SOFR, says LSTA
The Secured Overnight Financing Rate, known as SOFR, is being developed into a term structure

CLO debt investors resist equity investor push for Libor toggle
“If spreads weren’t collapsing we wouldn’t be hearing about this," says PGIM's Edwin Wilches

2018 US CLOs are highly ramped at closing, but this could decline, says Fitch
New US CLO portfolios at closing have been ramped by over 83% on average every month this year, according to research from Fitch Ratings