Direct lending green shoots flourish despite fundraising plunge
Despite the headline figures, sources say European direct lending fundraising remains healthy and newcomers have a place to enter

CLO Census results: Citi comes out top but several banks make big leaps
Citi has been voted top in five out of the eight primary CLO categories as part of the 2020 Creditflux CLO Census, but BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Natixis are among the banks that have made huge strides compared to last year

OC health check: CLOs wake up when September ends
September showed a slight but clear improvement in CLOs’ over-collateralisation test results as 182 CLOs breached an OC test during the reporting period, compared to 198 in August.

Credit Rendezvous: sometimes you have to dive deep to find value
Some parts of the credit market are fraught with danger, but that does not mean portfolio managers are avoiding them entirely, according to the Credit Rendezvous, Creditflux's 10-page quarterly report eaturing comments from 15 credit experts

[update] Beneath the triple C: theme parks take portfolios on downward ride
Seven corporate debt issuers were downgraded to triple C or below in September by Moody’s or Standard and Poor’s – hurting $2.16 billion of US CLO loans and €1.16 billion of European CLO portfolio. The pace of CLO loan downgrades to triple C has slowed steadily since the peak in April

Banks employ tools to dig into CLO warehouse exposures
Credit analytics firm Oxane Partners has started a new business catering to the needs of CLO warehouse lenders, say officials at the company

Methodology tweaks could prove a boost for CLO warfs
Moody’s proposed CLO methodology changes could impact 8% of US and European CLO tranches positively, the rating agency says

Credit spreads wind back to February to bring shorts into focus
The credit rally since April has opened up an opportunity to go short credit, say fund managers, with spreads back to where they were in late February

Credit hedge funds (October 2020)
Monthly credit hedge fund tables

Ucits at a glance: Advent and Algebris edge towards double digit returns
Two managers stand out in the Ucits rankings as they close in on 10% YTD figures

Credit funds at a glance (October 2020)
A round-up of fundraising and people moves

Fund performance: A third of funds reach positive territory in 2020
August has been another successful month for the CLO category as seven of the top 10 funds invest primarily in CLOs

Direct Lending Perspectives: fundraising takes a hit
European direct lending funds raised just €2.6 billion over the second quarter, according to European Direct Lending Perspectives, the joint report from Creditflux and Debtwire. This is down from the €11.3 billion of capital raised in Q2 2019

Fallen angels and financials feel heat as CDS indices roll
CDS indices are rolling into new contracts today, with outgoing series of iTraxx Europe and Crossover widening sharply from the market’s open on technical as well as fundamental factors

Fair Oaks rotates to Euro CLO equity after 32% gain on double Bs
Fair Oaks Capital is starting to rotate back to CLO equity positions after taking advantage of the stabilising market and using profits from its higher-quality, more opportunistic trades earlier this year to carefully dial up the risk

Blackstone reveals CLO originator NAV was understated for four months
Blackstone says the net asset value of class A units in its privately-offered CLO originator were understated between 31 March and 30 June

Beneath the triple C: slowest downgrade pace puts market in recovery mode
The CLO market recovery is starting to benefit from borrower downgrades falling to their slowest rate since the coronavirus crisis began in March

Dach mid-market lending is 'back to business', GCA Altium survey reveals
Mid-market lenders in the German-speaking region appear to be back to business, with around 90% of banks and debt funds open to evaluate new financing opportunities, according to a September survey by GCA Altium

Ellington winds down European CLO warehouse as PM joins rival
Ellington Management is winding down its European CLO warehouse with Barclays, while Ellington's European CLO operations lead has left for a rival firm

Dislocation and costly payment debacle highlight loan tech lag
Coronavirus-led dislocation in the leveraged loan market, as well as a bank’s recent claims of human error in making a large loan payment, underscore the industry’s need to embrace long-overdue efficiency improvements