Investors scrutinise AI disruption and opportunities in the European loan market
Lower EV, high leverage elevate credit risk and refi challenges; AI-driven sell-off creates selective buy opportunities

Majority of LPs expect to mix public and private credit despite liquidity challenges – BSP survey
Within the next five years, 59% of global institutional investors expect to take an integrated approach to public and private credit investments, new research from Benefit Street Partners shows 

Euro CLO market perks up to close out week, as LGT and Capital Four price deals
A new issue from LGT Capital Partners and a reset from Capital Four came after a tepid week of issuance, impacted by the ongoing disruptive impacts of AI on software loans, allied to uncertainty stemming from the war in Iran

Sona markets new Euro CLO
Jefferies has been engaged as the arranger for Sona Fios CLO VII, with the deal set to price toward the end of next week

Arini preps fresh CLO, breaking new Euro issuance pause
EXCLUSIVE: The latest print will be the manager’s first new European issue of the year, and comes at a time of caution in the primary market

Palmer Square issues 2026's first static European CLO
Arranged via JPMorgan, the half-billion-euro new issue priced its triple As at 100bps over Euribor

ABS primary braves geopolitical uncertainty as spreads start to feel pressure – European ABS Weekly Digest
The European ABS primary market mostly shunned geopolitical risk this week as seven deals priced, two of which were pre-placed

European CLO default rate remained stable in 2025 — Fitch
The annual default rate remained largely stable for EMEA CLO portfolios in 2025, while defaults decreased among issuers rated CC or below, according to new data from Fitch 

European CLO issuance restarts after brief lull as Bain prints new issue
European CLO issuance kicked into gear on Wednesday morning after a short lull, as Bain Capital priced its first new Euro print for the year with a EUR 403m print via BNP Paribas

Citi announces debt capital markets co-heads, including a hire from BofA
The new co-heads will fill the open spot left by head of global debt capital markets Rich Zogheb, who is retiring after 40 years in the industry

Latest new Euro CLOs from HPS and Ares showcase significant spread widening from mid-February lows
The triple As for both HPS' Aqueduct European CLO 17 and Ares’ European CLO XXIV priced at Euribor plus 127bps, while the overall cost of debt has also widened out some 20bps from the levels seen in February

Unitranche deals take off in Europe, setting new record – Houlihan
The European private credit market completed 570 unitranche deals in 2025, marking an all-time high since Houlihan Lokey started publishing its quarterly report

Elmwood and Diameter price inaugural European CLOs
The senior triple A notes for Elmwood’s first European CLO priced at a notably tight level for a debut manager, issuing at Euribor plus 122bps

New Euro CLOs price from CIFC, Investcorp, and CQS
CIFC and Investcorp have issued new European CLOs with triple-A paper priced at 120bps over Euribor, while CQS priced its first new Euro deal of the year on the same day as its first US issue 

Group.ONE TLB and Cision loan fall on continued AI selloff
Market Comment: Software leveraged loans are under pressure on continued AI fears

Onex, AXA, Five Arrows and Serone print new Euro deals
Onex priced its first new European CLO issue of 2026, one of four new Euro CLOs that issued toward the close of last week

Credit risk lingers in junior European CLO notes outside reinvestment – Fitch Ratings
Under the assumptions of the stress test, 83% of double B and single B rated tranches in transactions past their reinvestment expiry show model-implied ratings below their current ratings

LGT Capital Partners launches CLO equity fund
The royal family-owned firm made its CLO debut last summer, pricing a EUR 517m deal arranged by Deutsche Bank 

Mizuho expands in European CLOs with second sole-led deal
EXCLUSIVE: The Japanese bank is currently in market with a new-issue transaction for KKR, according to sources

Former Ares CLO leader Boris Okuliar joins Corinthia
London-based Okuliar is now Corinthia’s chief strategy officer and head of global diversified credit, signalling the private credit firm’s expansion into public credit

CLO equity payments decline for US and Europe
Reinvesting US BSL CLOs saw median equity payments slip 16bps from the fourth quarter of 2025

Fund performance – December 2025
All categories end 2025 positively as Pictet Alt takes 12-month crown

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

New Euro CLOs price from Signal and Cross Ocean
Signal Harmonic CLO Vi was arranged by JPMorgan and takes the total AUM for Signal's CLO platform to EUR 2.7bn, while Cross Ocean Bosphorus CLO XII issued via Morgan Stanley

Global CLO law firm rankings – FY 2025
Milbank and Paul Hastings again top Creditflux’s global legal manager and arranger counsel rankings for 2025 – but the shifting legal landscape drove changes further down