Loan buyers warned about rush of Sofr opt-in amendments
CLO managers must be mindful of loan amendments that facilitate a benchmark switch from Libor to Sofr, as they could find themselves buried in paperwork and locked into tight deadlines

We’re drifting apart
Everyone’s issuing US CLOs these days and it is tempting to believe the crowd of managers is blending into one. However, overall portfolio overlap has dropped to 37.7% across 2021 CLOs  

Tech firm eyes data-driven approach to CLO management
As New York-based tech firm Exos prepares to launch what it calls “the first truly tech-enabled CLO”, the specialist leading its efforts says technology could soon play a central role in CLO portfolio optimisation

Loan fintech drills into private data to free up analysts’ time
The role of credit analysts could be redefined if a new product launched by a tech company takes off

High yield / loan slowdown affects year-end projections and pricing: Barclays
A sharp decline in primary market activity means expectations for high yield bond and even leveraged loan issuance need to be lowered, say Barclays credit strategists. And that in turn has implications for relative value

Attack-minded CLO managers capitalise on bearish outlook
Some of the most aggressive CLO managers have benefited from loan market volatility in March after having tweaked their portfolios in the months beforehand

US loans recover but CLOs lag and issuance stutters
The US leveraged loan market spent the latter half of March recovering losses from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with prices now above where they were when the war started

"Having tighter CLO debt costs will not be enough for brand names to outperform more agile competitors"
The drop in loan and CLO prices today is unlike any previous downturn — but again it will pay to be agile

Sofr spike boosts CLO debt as Europe and US go out of sync
The sharp rise in three-month term Sofr has caused CLO relative value to shift decisively towards primary US CLO debt tranches in January as the floating rate benchmark shot up from 9.11bp to 17.06bp (from 1-20 January)

Market ponders Sofr spread adjustment amid investor lag
The CLO market is waving goodbye to Libor as a benchmark rate and transitioning to alternatives for the first time in the history of the asset class. But there is no consensus as to what the Sofr spread adjustment should be, and some of the largest buyers are said to be slow to consider the impact of a benchmark transition

Lev loan index rule change proposed to meet Sofr switch
Leveraged loan index stakeholders are being asked for feedback on a proposal that would allow the inclusion of loans linked to Sofr and scrap a minimum spread rule

CLO lower cap stack will outperform with $175bn new issuance in 2022: JP Morgan
Equity and lower rated tranche investors will do best as $175 billion of global new CLO issuance arrives in 2022, predict JP Morgan strategists in their annual outlook, taking market size to $1.2 trillion

Ex-Citi structured products co-head launches crypto investment firm
Citi's former structured products trading co-head has launched a venture investment firm for crypto companies, digital assets and blockchain protocols with an inaugural $1.5 billion multi-strategy venture

Loans will be winners in bearish year for credit: BNP Paribas
Floating rate loans are best positioned for a year of widening credit spreads, but high yield bonds will outperform investment grade and EM credit is set for losses, says BNP Paribas in its 2022 outlook

CLO resets drive equity returns to highest in five years: JP Morgan
Equity investors in US CLOs are earning, on average, the biggest returns of the past five years, finds JP Morgan – with deals reset this year having done most to raise the numbers

Sofr transition timing puts CLO debt and equity at odds, says BNP Paribas
CLO investors look to have tough conversations ahead on the structure implications of the transition from Libor to Sofr, with BNP Paribas strategists noting CLO debt will benefit from an early move while equity tranches would do better to wait

There's still time to pick up pennies in credit before steamroller arrives: BNP Paribas
Declining dealer inventories, rising fund cash balances, and a greater prevalence of hedging have added up to produce a credit market that is positioned too short, according to BNP Paribas strategists

Nomura closes in on Sofr CLO milestone with 15bp emerging as standard for spread adjustment
Nomura is close to a major breakthrough by arranging the first CLO transaction with a Sofr pricing component

Barrow Hanley makes first move in CLOs
Barrow Hanley Global Investors has unveiled plans to launch its first 'CLO fund' in the coming weeks, with suggestions that CLO issuance will follow 

CLO Census latest: voting crosses 200 as range of dealers lead in CLO origination
CLO market participants are placing value on the specialist service that dealers are providing, according to Creditflux’s CLO Census, with three different banks leading the way for US CLO execution, structuring and syndication. A silimar trend is in play in Europe

Spread adjustment curve emerges for ground-breaking Walker & Dunlop Sofr loan
Walker & Dunlop has changed the credit spread adjustment (CSA) on its fully-Sofr $600 million loan, Debtwire reports, with a varied structure depending on the benchmark tenor    

Everyone’s ramping

Banks reject mandates amid loan surge as settlement lengthens
M&A bankers are turning down mandates and settlement times for US loan trades are extending as understaffed desks struggle to cope with record deal volumes

"Purchasing IG CLO debt was a key driver of success for 1.0 CLOs"
Longer reinvestment periods, the ability to buy IG tranches and improved loan settlements would improve CLOs