New Mexico pension allocates $235 million to credit
New Mexico Educational Retirement Board has allocated $235 million to three credit managers, a spokesperson for the pension has confirmed

Arbour Lane collects $1.2 billion for special situations fund
Arbour Lane Capital Partners has hauled in $1.2 billion on a final close of its opportunistic credit and special situation fund, Arbour Lane Credit Opportunity Fund II, exceeding its $750 million initial target size

Fitch places five BDCs on negative outlook
Fitch Ratings has changed the outlooks of five business development companies from stable to negative folllowing a review of its rated BDCs

Credit Rendezvous: recovery begins, but is it U, V or even W?
Investing in credit is not as easy as ABC. The coronavirus crisis has crushed valuations and although most assets will eventually pull to par, no one is sure how the recovery will pan out

BlueTorch's Genda details direct lending flows and pricing as he ramps up new fund
BlueTorch Capital has witnessed a 20% pickup in dealflow since covid-19 but, while the company's portfolio has avoided retailers, airlines and hotels, it has not gone unscathed, said chief executive officer Kevin Genda

Global direct lending fundraising plummets in Q1
Global direct lending fundraising figures plummeted in the first quarter as coronavirus-related volatility kicked in. Managers raised just $9.4 billion raised across 11 funds compared to $18.6 billion across 15 in Q1 2019, according to Creditflux's fund database

Aero lands $414 million final close on aircraft leasing fund
Aero Capital Solutions has collected $414 million for its second mid-life aircraft leasing fund, holding a final close for the fund on 6 March

Virginia pension allocates $850 million to credit in Q1
Virginia Retirement System has allocated $850 million to three credit strategies in the first quarter of the year, according to an update at its 15 April investment committee meeting

Tennessee pension awards $125 million to special situations credit fund
Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System has awarded $125 million to a special situations credit fund 

Two senior credit officials leave Global Atlantic
Global Atlantic has parted ways with two senior members of its credit team, including its head of credit investments

SEC temporarily relaxes regulations for BDCs
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has provided business development companies with temporary relief in light of covid-19 - including the ability of BDCs, who are unable to satisfy asset coverage ratios, to use an alternative form of calculating leverage

Fed commits $600 billion to SMEs in Main Street Lending facility
The US Federal Reserve has committed to buy up to $600 billion in loans to small and medium-sized businessness through its Main Street Lending Programme. The programme will sit alongisde the existing Payroll Protection Program (PPP), a separate facility exclusively for small businesses 

Onex revamps leadership of credit business after hiring from GSO
Jason New has joined Onex Credit as co-chief executive officer in New York, according to an announcement.

Bardin Hill pulls in $300 million for first close of opportunistic credit fund
Bardin Hill has held a first close on an opportunistic credit fund at around $300 million, according to sources familiar with the matter

Vermont pension expands private credit and core bonds allocation
Vermont Pension Investment Committee has reshuffled its credit portfolio including transitioning its short-term, quality credit allocation to an active core bonds mandate, as well as redeploying core plus fixed income into an expanded private credit allocation.

US pension earmarks $35 million for mezzanine debt fund
Arkansas Teachers Retirement System has earmarked $35 million to a mezzanine debt and equity strategy managed by Greyrock Capital Group

The opportunities to build par and spread within a CLO haven’t been this plentiful since 2009
Last year’s CLOs could become the benchmark for manager performance

Golub becomes second BDC to undertake rights offering this week
Golub Capital has become the second business development company to undertake a rights offering this week, following in the footsteps of Bain Capital, as BDCs seek capital to ride out challenges besetting the market from the coronavirus pandemic 

Asset managers pull all liquidity levers to satisfy borrowers
A paramount concern for many investors in direct lending funds is whether asset managers have enough liquidity to meet borrower requests for funding

Lenders look at MAC clauses amid revolver demand
A plethora of revolver draws has swept through the corporate credit markets. While banks and asset managers have so far shown the capacity to meet their unfunded commitments, the material adverse change (MAC) clause in credit agreements could allow them to pushback on borrowers.

Managed accounts pose flexibility check for direct lenders
Direct lenders are closely analysing portfolio companies hit by coronavirus volatility for signs of financial stress, ready to inject capital and extend flexibility to companies where needed.

Credit funds at a glance

A round-up of fundraising and people moves in credit

Ucits at a glance: Long-short approach lifts Pictet to the top

Fund perfomance: Slowdown for some as pandemic takes hold

Owl Rock becomes last investment grade BDC to win increased leverage approval
Owl Rock Capital Corporation has become the last investment grade business development company to cut its asset coverage requirement from 200% to 150%, after receiving unaminous approval from its board of directors on Tuesday