As direct lenders seek efficient, scalable financing tools, private credit CLOs are growing fast
PCLOs have reached USD 135bn, or 13% of the overall CLO market

Despite CLO gloom in Europe and greater take up of private credit in the US, markets on both sides of the Atlantic are similar
I’ve just returned from a trip to London, my first since taking on the mantle of editing Creditflux, and was struck as always by how stubbornly far apart the European and the US markets remain.

Points up front
Get off the bus, but don't despair

Letter from the editor
It’s a curious thing to come back to your beginning, but that’s where I find myself, writing this letter as the new editor of Creditflux. I first joined 17 years ago, fresh out of university. 

Past returns: Alhambra CLO paves the way
Five years ago in Creditflux, we reported that Be-Spoke Capital was launching the first SME European CLO since the financial crisis.

We’ll get through this awkward patch
Wide liabilities have made pricing CLOs trickier in the past few months. But speakers at Creditflux’s CLO Symposium were optimistic that the arbitrage is OK — so long as you can place those triple As

"Rules require 5% risk retention, but for first loss CRS that is not enough"
PGGM's Mascha Canio takes our credit quiz 

Past returns: Ares constructs private CLO
In Creditflux 10 years ago we reported on Ares Management putting together a quasi-CLO in a bilateral transaction involving senior debt investor Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

"I’m passionate about broader representation within investment teams"
CIP's Leila Donnachy takes our credit quiz 

"I’ve been doing ESG for 27 years; I just didn’t know it"
Apollo's Joe Mornoey takes our credit quiz

Past returns: Mid market CLOs move into light
Ten years ago in Creditflux, we reported that S&P was reducing shadow ratings after it notified CLO managers it would not assign such ratings to companies with more than $499 million of outstanding debt

"Three CLOs issued in 2021 have included triple C baskets of 20%"
Big triple C buckets helped mid market CLO issuers in 2020 and the trend is for even bigger allowances this year

A transformational framework means fund managers have to drive real-world change
There are managers who make transformational investments, those who incorporate ESG and those who do nothing

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

Points up front: Despite the fees, European SME CLOs are the future
Producing the first post-crisis securitisation of small and mid-sized European loans was a monumental effort for Be-Spoke Capital.

Points up front: Funky fund manager is music to our ears

Continuous par build can provide a rainy-day fund for when downgrades to triple Cs pour in
If CLO managers are preparing for mass downgrades to triple C loans, then trading gains and thick OC cushions are the best defences

Experience has taught me to be sceptical of second lien loans
Alex Jackson takes our credit quiz

They said it: BSL loans and mid-market loans are basically the same thing
A US CLO portfolio manager is heard putting himself forward for a direct lending fund management role..

Staying afloat in credit takes care and character
In his final article, our columnist sheds light on his identity and has some 'nice' advice for those navigating credit’s changeable oceans

Points up front: the best way to source direct lending loans is to sit and wait
Spend a few minutes in the company of a direct lending manager and you’re sure to hear about the lengths to which funds go in order to source deals (one firm said that it operates a call centre in order to contact borrowers). Not so Pascal Meysson, managing director at Alcentra.

Join the debate: is Christopher Nolan moonlighting for Creditflux?
A story last month on direct lender Prestige caused one reader to draw comparisons with a script from film director Christopher Nolan 

Points up front: zombie managers near extinction
The long-term nature of CLOs means the market tends to have a large number of zombie managers, those with one or two deals outstanding but no plans for future issuance. However, a spate of redemptions, especially in Europe, has swept away some of the ghostly deadwood.

The biggest credit stories in 2017
CLO ramp-up risk, new risk retention proposals and new CLO joint ventures were in the headlines last year. Here, Creditflux reveals the most read stories of 2017

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