CLO fintech Octaura hires veteran as chief operating and financial officer
Octaura, a new fintech company that offers electronic trading of leveraged loans and CLOs, has hired Jason Cohen as chief operating officer and chief financial officer effective immediately

Private equity firms are becoming CLO converts: TwentyFour
Private equity firms have increasingly bought CLO and other securitised debt tranches in recent weeks instead of their usual preference for physical assets - a trade TwentyFour believes "makes perfect sense"

US managers recalibrate as Euro CLO portfolio spreads rise: Moody's
CLO managers have had to readjust this year and data from Moody’s Investor Services shows weighted average rating factor scores for all US CLOs have held steady, while weighted average spreads have dropped 0.15%

Warning signs flash as B3 share of loans reaches record level
Credit analysts are sounding the alarm as the portion of the loan and high yield universe rated B3 or B- surged to a record level in the third quarter

Patchy primary market slows European take-outs
European CLO issuance is reaching a crossroads, with several warehouses ramped while the path to the primary market is hazardous.

Blackstone scores record with century of US CLOs
Blackstone Credit has become the first manager to price 100 US CLOs, following the printing of Storm King Park CLO in August

US loan index falls below 92 to almost wipe out gains since July
The S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index sank to an average bid of 91.92 cents by Monday, down by two points in as many weeks, wiping out almost all the gains seen in the late-summer market rally

Nerves of steel needed for CLOs as Phoenix Services files for chapter 11
CLOs hold $341.54 million of steel service provider Phoenix Services Topco which filed for chapter 11 protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware yesterday

Axa IM plots Euro CLO warehouse investment amid loan pressure and possible liquidations
Some European CLO warehouse may face liquidations and there will be further pressure on leveraged loans in the last quarter of the year, according to Axa Investment Management

European IG CLO mezz is attractive versus US paper: Barclays
There is no reason for European CLO mezzanine tranches to be as wide as they are versus equivalent US paper, according to a strategy note from Barclays.

Judges rule in favour of Citi in overturning Revlon decision
Citi has won its appeal against Revlon creditors, forcing a consortium of asset managers to return more than half a billion dollars received in an accidental transfer in 2020

Beneath the triple C: US CLOs take a dip in the triple C as Europe watches from the sun lounger
The US CLO market bore the brunt of downgrades to triple C in July and August, with a total of $6.22 billion of paper affected. European CLOs enjoyed a more relaxing summer holiday, with only 1 name representing €33.88 million worth of bonds downgraded to triple C.  

Cineworld buys ticket for DIP facility with chapter 11 filing
Cineworld filed for Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court For The Southern District Of Texas on Wednesday, less than a month after the UK-based cinema operator announced Chapter 11 was among the options it was considering to “achieve its restructuring objectives”

15 CLO managers aim to print European deals as 'aspirational pipeline' forms
European CLO market participants are doubtful the pace of issuance will return to full swing in September, despite a reasonably healthy forward-looking pipeline.

Fitch launches ESG scoring for Euro lev fin issuers with 75% CLO coverage
Fitch has scored 430 individual borrowers in the European market, which are on average more than 75% of the portfolio in an average Fitch-rated European CLO

Keep an eye on gaming, leisure and entertainment issuers in Euro CLOs, says BofA
CLO investors should be mindful of industry concentration exposure, with the gaming, leisure and entertainment sector an area of focus, according to Bank of America research released yesterday

Euro CLOs demonstrate "considerable resiliency" to upcoming CLO maturity wall, says S&P
Managers and investors should keep an eye on upcoming CLO maturity wall with “potential adverse effects” amid tighter financing conditions and the impact that could have on CLO performance and ratings

CLO engine sputters as loan recovery hits road block
US CLO issuance suffered a precipitous decline in August as firms struggled to adjust to the new pricing landscape

Three defaults mean CLO OC ratios to decline by 17bp in September, says BofA
CLO overcollateralisation ratios are set to decline by 17 basis points in September following the defaults of Cineworld, Endo and Carestream health, according to a research paper from Bank of America

Secondary CLOs stand firm as credit markets take a hit
Macro weakness is seeping into credit with CDS indices gapping wider and US loans suffering a setback after dropping below 95 points this week. Traders say the CLO secondary market has reflected this turn in sentiment, with did-not-trades racking up – although spreads have held up better than other parts of the credit market

The Last Tranche with Octagon's Nechamkin: Investors were selling the larger loans that were easier to sell
In this episode of the Last Tranche, Mike Nechamkin, chief investment officer and senior portfolio manager at Octagon Credit Investors, discusses the reasons behind the recovery in loan prices in recent weeks

CLOs keep eyes glued to screen as Cineworld previews possible chapter 11
Cineworld, the UK-based cinema giant, has announced that a chapter 11 restructuring is among the options it is considering, in response to recent media speculation about a possible default

Widening asset/liability gulf will hurt CLOs: Barclays
A mismatch between CLO asset / liability rate risk is increasing in the US as more leveraged loan issuers opt for one-month pay frequency, Barclays credit strategists have found

Quick! Avaya has ignited and $1 billion of CLO assets are at risk
Sparks are flying in the leveraged loan and high yield market after communications company Avaya Holdings slashed its forecasted earnings mere weeks after syndicating new debt. The rapid decline of Avaya's debt has left CLO managers little time to avoid the blaze

Market sentiment shifts as investors turn bullish on loans and CLOs
CLO market sentiment has shifted decisively in recent weeks with investors expressing more optimism than earlier in the year