CME touts forward-looking Sofr term benchmarks
CME Group has begun publishing term benchmarks for the secured overnight interest rate (Sofr) as part of the global push to move away from Libor in financial markets

Beneath the triple C: CLOs benefit as upgrades make for lighter triple C buckets
For the first time since the sell off in March last year, downgrades to triple C have come to a near-standstill

BofA and Citi unveil multi-dealer platform for CLOs and loans
Bank of America and Citi have joined forces with plans for a multi-dealer CLO and loan platform which will cover trading, data and analytics

ESG drive poses little threat to CLO returns or flexibility, says Moody's
Environmental, social and governance investment criteria are not impairing CLOs either in flexibility or performance, Moody's Investors Service has found in a new report

Loan technical and supply glut keeps CLOs in check
CLO asset and liability spreads moved wider in March owing to unprec-edented volumes of issuance, despite investors rotating into floating-rate products amid rising treasury rates

CLO managers eye bonds as short-dated loan universe shrinks
European CLO managers that focus on bonds say they had flexibility in the first quarter as the new issue loan pipeline ramped up

Loan pipeline builds to fuel US CLO production into Q2
US CLO new issuance, already on a high, is set to be spurred on by a healthy loan pipeline over the second quarter of 2021

Sofr fix nears launch as CLOs face term rate void
Three months into 2021, grounds for optimism have grown little that a term rate will be found before the end of the year to replace Libor in loans, CLOs, CDS and other contracts. But hopes are rising that solutions such as credit spread adjustments could help mitigate performance uncertainty

CLO investors still hungry for triple As and double Bs, says JP Morgan
Most CLO investors are looking to add risk through deals in the months ahead, with very few inclined to reduce exposure, a JP Morgan survey has found - despite the historic flood of issuance in the first quarter of this year

BlackRock shaves top but widens rest of stack with Euro CLO reset
BlackRock has reset a 2016 vintage CLO, pricing the triple A tranche inside the average for new issue European deals but widening lower rated tranches from where they refinanced in 2019

Sterling-heavy loan b-wic points to PGIM CLO
A £233 million-equivalent portfolio of bids wanted in competition (B-wic) on loans, comprising £177 million worth of sterling paper and €65 million of euro paper, is almost identical to collateral of PGIM’s Dryden 63 GBP CLO 2018

European CLO and loan spreads jostle in tight race
New issue CLO spreads have tightened so sharply in Europe that market participants are questioning how long the process can continue. 

Barings sells €377m portfolio via b-wic to wind down European CLO
Barings was the seller of a mammoth €377 million loan b-wic on Thursday (12 February), Debtwire has reported

The Last Tranche with Sound Point's Ketchum: CLOs have fortress-like structures
Creditflux's Hugh Minch and Sound Point's Stephen Ketchum discuss the macro picture for US credit and who should be on the lookout for inflation

FS bridges CLO gap with broadly syndicated loans
FS Investments has expanded its platform to include CLOs backed by broadly syndicated loans, with officials saying the firm capitalised on solid conditions late in 2020

CLO managers face ramping challenges as inflation risk rises
A mix of inflation worries and pandemic uncer-tainty is pushing up loan prices and causing CLO managers to struggle to construct new portfolios

Cairn buys $2.5 billion European distressed debt manager
Cairn Capital has bought a $2.5 billion European distressed debt hedge fund manager, boosting the firm's assets under management to $8 billion

Beneath the triple C: 13 CLO loans take a dive but defaults subside to a ripple
22 corporate debt issuers were downgraded to triple C or below in November and December by Moody’s or S&P, out of which 13 can be found in CLO portfolios  – hurting $4.55 billion of US CLO loans, €1.87 billion of European CLO portfolios and almost $80 million of middle market CLOs loans, according to CLO-i

Onex hires former BlackRock official as European CLO head following departure
The appointment comes after the departure of Onex's senior-most European CLO portfolio manager Steve Baker late last year

CLO 2021 outlook: back to the 'old' normal with volumes, spreads and structures to revert to pre-covid levels
Predictions went out the window this year because, well, who in December 2019 could have foreseen a pandemic devastating lives and wrecking financial markets? But the emergence of vaccines to combat the threat of the coronavirus has spurred a rally in credit over the last month. And CLO researchers expect a resurgence in 2021 with US new issue CLO volumes predicted to hit the $80-110 billion range, according to reports analysed by Creditflux.

Vaccine boosts credit as PE firms open up to bridge loans
The leveraged loan and CLO markets ended 2020 on a long-awaited high after multiple vaccines for covid-19 were rubber-stamped by regulators

Europe leads corporate credit rally, but US outperforms in CLOs
iTraxx Crossover has been the CDS market's outperformer this week, tightening over 30 basis points, or 11.4%, to trade at 235bp today. But in the CLO market, US deals have come out on top thanks to a BlackRock CLO that priced its double Bs at some of the tightest levels this year

US and European CLO PMs earn promotion as Carlyle's Pace takes on new role
Carlyle Group’s global head of liquid credit has decided to take on a new role as vice chair of global credit, according to an internal memo seen by Creditflux, which will involve investing capital across the Carlyle platform

Beneath the triple C: cinemas get clipped but default picture improves
14 corporate debt issuers were downgraded to triple C or below in October by Moody’s or Standard & Poor’s – hurting $3.15 billion of US CLO loans, €761.73 million of European CLO portfolios and $37.95 million of middle market CLOs loans, according to CLO-i. Cinema chains were among those to suffer last month

Managers brave covid-hit sectors to drum up returns
Price dislocations among companies operating in industries affected by covid-19 mean they may offer some of the best opportunities for CLO managers and CSO investors — and sources say that neglecting these sectors could hurt performance