Credit Rendezvous: And breathe...
The unanimous verdict is that credit spreads will be moving wider – they have to. But the difficulty credit fund managers face is predicting when the next sell-off comes and how sharp it will be. In the Q3 instalment of Creditflux’s Credit Rendezvous, the over-riding message from portfolio managers is that there’s little point in taking on too much risk. The report features the views of prominent credit figures including Paul Horvath (Orchard), Himani Trivedi (Nuveen), Ronnie Jaber (Onex), Graham Rainbow (Alcentra) and Michelle Russell-Dowe (Schroders). The report looks at 14 segments of the market including CLOs, direct lending, leveraged loans, distressed debt and credit derivatives.  

Siaci €202 million loan to leave CLOs after merger as new debt guided in low 400s
Burrus has outlined price talk on an €850 million loan backing its acquisition and merger with Siaci, a popular CLO credit

Woah, we’re halfway there
Judging by the 2020 vintage, European CLO overlap is 50%. But varied approaches to holding bonds and the many loans managers turn down mean there are ways for issuers to outperform

CLO managers eye bonds as short-dated loan universe shrinks
European CLO managers that focus on bonds say they had flexibility in the first quarter as the new issue loan pipeline ramped up

BlackRock shaves top but widens rest of stack with Euro CLO reset
BlackRock has reset a 2016 vintage CLO, pricing the triple A tranche inside the average for new issue European deals but widening lower rated tranches from where they refinanced in 2019

It's all relative: CLO spreads explore record tights as credit indices hit impasse
CLO spreads are grinding to ever tighter levels, despite a flattish week for credit in which corporate credit indices have ended up more or less unchanged

CLO 2021 outlook: back to the 'old' normal with volumes, spreads and structures to revert to pre-covid levels
Predictions went out the window this year because, well, who in December 2019 could have foreseen a pandemic devastating lives and wrecking financial markets? But the emergence of vaccines to combat the threat of the coronavirus has spurred a rally in credit over the last month. And CLO researchers expect a resurgence in 2021 with US new issue CLO volumes predicted to hit the $80-110 billion range, according to reports analysed by Creditflux.

Managers brave covid-hit sectors to drum up returns
Price dislocations among companies operating in industries affected by covid-19 mean they may offer some of the best opportunities for CLO managers and CSO investors — and sources say that neglecting these sectors could hurt performance

Ticked off: European loan docs turn aggressive
Documentation for European loans tightened in the immediate aftermath of the March sell-off, with lender-friendly terms around additional debt baskets, dividend levels and acquisition thresholds. But aggressive terms are creeping back into the market

Credit Rendezvous: record fiscal stimulus provides pick-me-up
Credit markets had a mini bounce-back in the second quarter as central banks poured cash into the economy. But there is great uncertainty about the effects of a second wave of coronavirus. As part of our quarterly report on credit - the Credit Rendezvous - Creditflux spoke to experts across 12 segments of the credit market

Europe’s newcomers find ways to stand out
Last year’s new European CLO managers needed to provide something different for investors. In general, they’ve succeeded, with Capital Four having one of the smallest overlap figures in our data

A different kind of crisis
Panellists on Creditflux’s US CLO webinar were positive about the robustness of CLO structures and the role of cure contributions. But they warned about zombie defaults and gaming tests

Four managers eye breakthrough new issue European CLOs
The European primary CLO market is showing signs of revival with four managers eyeing deals

CLO warehouses trigger draw stops as loan market tanks
CLO warehouses are being put on ice due to ‘draw stop’ triggers, which have come into play as loan prices plunge.

We’ve survived before, we can do so again

We’ve survived before, we can do so again
$7.8 billion of CLO collateral, split evenly between the US and Europe, is in the loans that have fallen fastest in the past month. But short term CLO pain will bring opportunities for building par

Ellington sells large chunk of assets from European CLO warehouse
Ellington Management sold €69.5 million from its CLO warehouse on a b-wic dated 12 March, according to market sources

Licence and registration: loan spreads get speeding ticket as CLOs play catch-up
The sharp rally in corporate credit means that CLO spreads are going to have to rapidly follow suit with investors informing Creditflux that US CLO triple As should be pricing at 105-107 basis points to make deal economics work. 

Euro loan trading: CLO managers find a home for building specialist's downsized loan
CRH Europe issued a €700 million term loan B in November, which was downsized from €900 million. But still, it has proved popular with CLO managers with CLO-i indicating that CLOs bought €275.2 million of the loan

CBAM plans expansion with new $60 million credit facility
CBAM has closed a $60 million credit facility to refinance a working capital facility to its parent company Eldridge Industries

CLOs wrestle back control of the European loan market
The share of European loans bought by CLOs is now larger than those acquired by loan managed accounts and hedge funds, according to a research paper by Barclays.

Managers amend CLO structures amid refinancing ripple
CLO managers have deployed various measures to keep their deals ticking amid a European refinancing wave.

Established firms say managers new to European CLOs will struggle to attract assets
New managers making their way in the European CLO market may have a fight on their hands, with sources noting the difficulty these firms face in getting sizeable allocations.