Investors gain upper hand in doc negotiations

Borrowers who made the one-month Libor election at the beginning of the year saved only a bit of money
The spread between one-month Libor and three-month Libor has garnered a significant amount of attention in the CLO market this year. Indeed, some market prognosticators suggested that the difference between the two rates could have such an impact that it would shut down the primary CLO market. 

BAML assigns high-ranking position to Barclays leveraged finance head
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has poached Barclays leveraged finance head Jill Schwartz and assigned her the role of executive vice chairman of global corporate and investment banking, according to an internal memo seen by Creditflux

Invesco to convert Canadian bond fund into global credit strategy
The new Invesco Active Multi-Sector Credit Fund will have a global multi-sector approach

Texas pension fund puts $150 million into credit
A $29.7 billion pension fund has approved commitments to two credit fund managers

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

BNP Paribas reorganises US credit business and appoints leveraged finance head
BNP Paribas has integrated its existing US primary and secondary credit units under a single new entity known as global credit markets Americas

Houlihan Lokey launches US loan platform and signs up HPS
Global investment bank Houlihan Lokey has launched a new syndicated leveraged finance platform as part of its capital markets group in response to “significant client demand” 

Mill Hill poaches former Citi structured credit specialist
New York-headquartered Mill Hill Capital has appointed Nick Pepe as head of business development and investor relations

Crestline Denali announces new structure following CEO departure
Crestline Denali has announced its new organisational structure, following the retirement of its chief executive officer David Killion

Portfolio managers continue to be pessimistic on credit outlook, survey finds
A survey by the International Association of Credit Portfolio Managers states that 56% respondents believe average corporate default rates will increase over the next 12 months 

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

Thrivent looks to the heavens for new interval loan fund
Minneapolis-based Thrivent Asset Management hopes to receive blessings and capital commitments from investors, after it has registered its new interval Church Loan and Income Fund

Arctos Capital raises for cryptoasset credit fund
San Francisco-headquartered Arctos Capital is launching a cryptoasset credit fund – Arctos Capital Cryptoasset Credit Fund

Californian pension fund looks to increase exposure to opportunistic credit
Merced Country Employees Retirement Association (MCERA) may increase its exposure to opportunistic credit, according to documents seen by Creditflux

Houlihan Lokey expands global private funds group with Carlyle official
Global investment bank Houlihan Lokey has expanded its global private funds group with the appointment of Zade Zalatimo, former senior executive officer of Carlyle MENA

Mayer Brown appoints private credit specialist as partner in Chicago office
Global law firm Mayer Brown has appointed private credit specialist Beth Vogel as partner in the firm’s banking and finance practice

New rules encourage growth in blossoming risk sharing market
Significant risk transfer deals have generally been issued towards the end of the year – but the first quarter of 2018 has opened with a flurry of deals across primary and secondary markets

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

Standard Chartered plans refocused SRT return
One of the biggest issuers of significant risk transfer (SRT) deals is returning to the market

Fixed income managers join rush for US leveraged loans
High yield fund managers Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss and Ryan Labs Asset Management are moving into floating rate products

They said it: "If the loan has a covenant, there’s probably something wrong with it"
Fully covenanted loans are a rarity, which would bring one to think that these are prized possesions. A US loan manager disagrees

Aircraft lessors: gathering clouds lead to talk of turbulence
Aircraft leasing companies have been cruising over the past two years as passenger numbers grew, but rising interest rates and trade tariff concerns are making some bondholders nervous

Managers spot opportunity as leveraged loans soften
An abundance of US leveraged loan issuance helped soften secondary prices even though the overall market is highly bid. Meanwhile, investors’ preference for floating rate paper hit high yield

Investors fight to stop assets being pulled into black holes
US loan investors are fighting back against terms which they believe are effectively turning supposedly senior secured loans into unsecured agreements