'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

Four managers eye breakthrough new issue European CLOs
The European primary CLO market is showing signs of revival with four managers eyeing deals

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

CLO managers favour tech, cable and healthcare as loan downgrade fears dominate, finds JP Morgan
Picking safe sectors to buy in the coronavirus crisis is a tough call, but CLO managers variously favour technology, cable/satellite and healthcare, according to a JP Morgan survey. There is much more consensus on dumping autos, energy, gaming/lodging/leisure and retail

S&P adds to CLO negative watch list as loan downgrades pick up
Standard & Poor’s has added to the list of tranches in CLOs it has on negative watch as coronavirus concerns mount. This follows the rating agency last week highlighting 22 tranches across 15 US CLOs for having big exposure to downgraded corporate borrowers across impacted industry sectors

Fitch puts European and US CLO notes on negative watch after coronavirus stress test
Fitch Ratings has placed six notes from one European CLO, one US static CLO and one US middle market CLO on negative watch, following coronavirus-related stress tests placed last week 

Listed credit fund sheds CLO triple As
Chenavari's listed credit fund, Chenavari Toro Income Fund Limited, has sold European CLO triple A paper to raise cash to answer margin calls related to CLO warehouse and CLO triple A repo exposures

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30% of CLOs will breach their 7.5% triple C buckets, says BofA
The number of CLOs tripping their 7.5% buckets for loans rated triple C is set to soar from 8% to around 30%, according to the latest research from Bank of America

Investors query loan b-wic objectives as trade rates plummet
Over €1 billion worth of loan paper has appeared in the form of European loan b-wics in March, according to market sources. But buyer appetite has been low

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Elizabeth Warren demands data on tanking lev loan market
US senator Elizabeth Warren has requested leveraged lending data and detailed information about the risk posed by loans, having aired her concerns about covid-19's impact on this market in a letter to treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin

CLOs pressured by sub-80 loan index as UBS predicts $550 billion of distress
CLOs were squeezed again today as the coronavirus selloff continues to hammer the loan market and UBS predicted many leveraged loans will become distressed

CLOs process Internap bankruptcy as they hold $212 million
CLOs hold $212 million of the debt of Internap Technologies, which filed for Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on on Tuesday

Ellington sells large chunk of assets from European CLO warehouse
Ellington Management sold €69.5 million from its CLO warehouse on a b-wic dated 12 March, according to market sources

CLO new issues shut down as market digests fiscal stimulus measures
The CLO and loan pipelines have dried up as managers and investors shift their focus to trading, according to market sources