Beneath the triple C: downgrades hold steady as Travelport loses its luggage
For the second month in a row downgrades to triple C steadied, with just under $9 billion of CLO loans falling to this rating across 34 corporate borrowers

Beneath the triple C: downgrade rate slows as $8 billion of CLO loans tumble
May offered some respite to CLO portfolios as corporate downgrades to triple C were reduced heavily - affecting just $6.67 billion of US CLO paper and €1.09 billion of European CLO portfolios

Scale of coronavirus-linked defaults divides credit market
As governments and central banks around the world plough money into the economy in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the loan and CLO markets are nevertheless bracing themselves for a corporate downgrade wave to turn into a default cycle

CLOs face trading restrictions as bankruptcies mount
CLO managers could be handcuffed in impending bankruptcies if tranche downgrades continue and restricted trading periods kick in

Libor fall weighs heavily on loan and CLO portfolios
Libor floors are set to return to prominence after three-month rates tumbled to 0.38% by 18 May, returning the loan market’s base rate to its lowest level since the oil and gas crisis of 2014-16

Onex hires Jaber as it launches CLO investment business
Onex Credit Partners has hired Ronnie Jaber to start a CLO investment business in New Jersey, according to an announcement today

It's confirmed: loans are not bonds in " victory for the flow of capital to American businesses"
You're a loan. No, nothing to do with lockdown and social distancing. It's actually a victory for the $1.2 trillion US loan market as a court ruling finds that loans are not securities in the long-running Kirschner v. JP Morgan Chase case

Akorn falls into bankruptcy with $321 million planted in CLOs
CLOs hold $321.3 million of specialty pharmaceutical company Akorn’s debt, according to the latest trustee reports from CLO-I, with the firm having filed for chapter 11 protection in the US District Court for the District of Delaware yesterday

Fed announces first loan subscription date for talf
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced yesterday that the first loan subscription date for the term asset-backed securities loan facility will be 17 June and the first loan closing date will be 25 June

Legacy CLO warehouses brought into scope of Fed's talf programme
The US Federal Reserve has published an updated term sheet and FAQ for its term asset-backed securities loan facility programme with amendments to allow a greater scope of CLOs as eligible collateral

Beneath the triple C: April showers send buckets overboard
Downgrade waves rocked the CLO market in April as Moody's and Standard & Poor's downgraded 135 corporate borrowers to triple C or below, from ratings above that level. The downgrades put CLOs in rough waters as $41.6 billion of such loans are prevalent in US CLOs while €5.64 are moored in European CLO portfolios – affecting 5.92% of the US market and 4.37% of the European market

Flex CLOs tap mass downgrades to fill big triple C buckets
CLO managers are being hampered by the sheer volume of corporate credit downgrades to triple C, leaving the small cluster of triple C-flex CLOs to capitalise

Credit markets adjust to stay-at-home rules
Lockdown orders across the world have forced the loan and CLO markets to modernise certain industry practices at speed, leading to speculation that some of the emergency measures adopted could become permanent, according to market participants

Who’s got the moves US: oil and gas leads renaissance for US CLO managers
The US leveraged loan market has held steady over the last two weeks. After rising to just below 87 of par in mid-April, the S&P LSTA US Leveraged Loan index closed at 85.75 to start this week

'Nochu covenant' leaves big CLO managers in a trading bind
Stipulations pushed into CLOs by the world’s largest CLO investor Norinchukin to limit its exposure to covenant-lite loans are causing headaches for managers on its approved list hoping to use the dislocation to build par  

Credit pickers need luck to avoid OC trap

CLO market braces for another wave of loan downgrades
A wave of negative rating actions swept the leveraged loan and CLO market in April. “Companies will look to secure incremental capital which will lead to further rating pressure,” says Philip Raciti, portfolio manager and head of US performing credit at Bardin Hill Investment Partners

If history repeats itself, the best CLO play could be to hold equities
After a futile scramble for liquidity, LyondellBasel filed for bankruptcy in the early morning hours of 6 January 2009. Bad luck for CLO managers that were holding the loan? Not at all

Two US CLOs fail senior OC tests
Apex Credit Partners and Marathon Asset Management have become the first CLO managers in the 2.0 era with deals failing their senior overcollateralisation tests, according to latest trustee reports on CLO-i

Beneath the triple C: $31.6 billion of CLO credits feel downgrade pain
March madness took a toll on CLOs as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s downgraded 4.25% of the portfolios in the US and 1.84% in Europe to triple C or below in just one month (some of these were already triple C rated, only to fall further).

S&P puts 48 triple C-heavy CLOs on negative watch
A spike in loan assets rated triple C as a result of the coronavirus pandemic has led S&P Ratings to put 48 CLO tranches on negative watch

Who's got the moves US: Carlyle leads as $3.7 billion of CLO loans recover
CLOs were exposed to $833.4 million worth of paper in the 10 term loans that suffered the largest price falls last week. But CLOs also had exposure to $3.67 billion of loans that recovered the most over the seven days.

CLO warehouses trigger draw stops as loan market tanks
CLO warehouses are being put on ice due to ‘draw stop’ triggers, which have come into play as loan prices plunge.

Investors watch Libor amid inter-bank liquidity concerns
After a freefall to 74 basis points on 12 March, CLO managers found some relief in watching Libor rise to 120bp during the second part of the month.

We’ve survived before, we can do so again
$7.8 billion of CLO collateral, split evenly between the US and Europe, is in the loans that have fallen fastest in the past month. But short term CLO pain will bring opportunities for building par