A fiery start to the year
Welcome to the first issue of the Creditflux magazine for 2026. Our cover pays homage to the Lunar New Year, which begins on February 17 and is symbolised by the horse

Software loans face further declines as AI fears persist
The rapid deployment of artificial intelligence is wreaking havoc with software companies that not long ago were darlings of the US leveraged loans market

‘This is a perfect storm for the loan market’
Investing Corner with Michael Sobol, global head of investing at Blackstone

New filings detail Patrick Drahi's diversion of assets to detriment of certain Altice creditors – report
EUR 4.5bn loan affected, 55% of Altice International's assets; creditors explore litigation, including covenant breach and conveyance claims

US lev loans, CLO spreads move in opposite directions as market worries deepen over software loans
ANALYSIS: The unusual dynamic has been driven by worries about disruption from artificial intelligence, as investors fret about the potentially wide-ranging impacts across a range of sectors

European BSL market upped risk to win deals in 2025 – White & Case
The BSL market issued a higher percentage of loans rated below BB against a backdrop of patchy M&A flow

Largest loan repricing wave sweeps through the market while AI fears drive software sector sell-off
Nord Anglia and INNIO break through 300bps barrier for single-Bs; Team.blue and Dedalus pull deals amid software/tech sell-off

Key theme for 2026 will be growth in the loan market – Eagle Point founder Tom Majewski

Growth in the loan market will be an important market driver this year, the founder of Eagle Point Credit Management says on the latest episode of Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee; also shares Eagle Point ressearch that shows LMEs at 2% per year on top of default rates

Muzinich and SMBC partner on European loan originations
The partnership will focus on double B and single B-rated new issues in the European public broadly syndicated loan market

BoE highlights weaknesses in CLO market following First Brands, Tricolor
The central bank will soon begin its stress test of private markets, amid concerns around weaknesses in higher-risk credit solutions

European CLOs back on track for record year, but caution remains – Global ABS panellists
Panellists at this year’s Global ABS conference in Barcelona say European CLO issuance has recovered from its April hiatus – but concerns remain, especially over lack of leveraged loan supply and deteriorating credit quality

Hayfin hires Man's former CLO PM for European high yield, loans research
Jason Late will serve as a co-portfolio manager for the European high yield and syndicated loan strategy

Tariffs will push up default rates for several years, say agencies and managers
After an uptick in leveraged loan defaults culled weaker credits in 2024, many expected default rates to fall in 2025. But the uncertainty stemming from the Trump administration’s tariffs means those assumptions are now under threat

Tariff headlines drive some HY auto parts names lower as Babilou loan plunges – Market Comment
Markets are down following newsflow that US President Donald Trump announced a 10% tariff on all imports into the US, with even higher rates for countries he called the “worst offenders"

Rovensa pulls EUR 1.11bn TLB amend-and-extend following 13 March commitment deadline
Portugal-based crop protection company has halted its leveraegd loan deal as market conditions worsen

Refresco halts repricing and add-on transaction as market sentiment sours
Pulls deal from syndication as recent market volatility has made the repricing difficult to execute

Leveraged Finance Fights Melanoma (LFFM) to hold inaugural charity event in London on 29 January
Leveraged Finance Fights Melanoma  will host an inaugural charity event in London on 29 January at the National Gallery to support the UK-based research on melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer

Apollo picks up two hires from Bank of America
Investment bankers Tomasz Gruszka and Murad Khaled have joined Apollo and an affiliate from Bank of America

European CLOs are sticking with Altice, research finds
Altice’s debt has been one of the biggest headaches for the CLO market in Europe this year but most managers have refrained from selling the debt according to a recent research report

Strong run helps CLOs shrug off Altice downgrade
It may be the largest triple C downgrade in years, but the CLO market is relatively unperturbed by Altice’s fall from grace.

AlbaCore expands with senior research hires
London-based AlbaCore Capital Group announced the expansion of its investment team last week, with the addition of a new Head of Research

European companies reprice EUR 16bn of loans in 2024 as window opens
When the European loan market started to talk about rates peaking late in 2023, repricing rehearsed a comeback, but did so effectively in January this year

Palmer Square liquidates 2022 CLO through BWIC
Palmer Square is the seller of a mammoth EUR 350m loan and bond BWIC portfolio that was auctioned last Thursday (4 January) as it has been winding down Palmer Square European Loan Funding 2022-3

Manulife Investment agrees deal to buy CQS
Manulife Investment Management, the global wealth and asset management portion of Manulife Financial Corporation, has agreed to buy London-based alternative credit manager CQS, including the CQS credit platform and CQS brand

Securities regulators call for improvement in practices in CLO market
IOSCO, an international policy forum for securities regulators, has called for improvement in practices in both the leveraged loan and CLO markets.