CLOs pressured by sub-80 loan index as UBS predicts $550 billion of distress
CLOs were squeezed again today as the coronavirus selloff continues to hammer the loan market and UBS predicted many leveraged loans will become distressed

CLOs process Internap bankruptcy as they hold $212 million
CLOs hold $212 million of the debt of Internap Technologies, which filed for Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on on Tuesday

Loan index drops below 90 for first time since February 2016
The S&P/LSTA leveraged loan index dropped below 90 today as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the world's financial markets

Beneath the triple C: mighty CLO buckets from Akorns grow
Rating agencies went on a downgrading spree in February, with Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s cutting 20 corporate names to triple C or below – affecting $2.78 billion of paper in US CLOs and €316.6 million in European CLOs. 

Dutch VAT ruling to reduce impacted CLO equity returns by 1 to 2%, says BofA
The Dutch tax authority’s decision to charge a 21% VAT on CLO collateral management fees will have a ‘substantial’ impact on equity, with returns likely to be 1 to 1.2% lower going forward, according to a research paper published by Bank of America

US CLO exposure to oil and gas is 2.6%, finds Barclays
Oil and gas exposure in CLOs is fairly limited, according to Barclays research, as crude oil prices drop to $33 per barrel, down from $41 on Friday

Bluestem bankruptcy hits $106 million of CLOs
CLOs hold $105.7 million of the debt of US retailer Bluestem which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, according to the latest trustee reports from CLO-i. 

European mid market CLO suffers blip as borrower misses interest payment
Alhambra SME Funding 2019-1 – the first middle market European CLO since the financial crisis – has suffered a setback with one of its portfolio companies missing an interest payment last month

Making arb work of it

Distressed exchanges offer pathways to recapture value that others are trying to take from CLOs
Volcker rule amendments could protect CLOs from losing out to distressed funds in a restructuring

Dispersion tests hedge fund managers

"We can have a positive impact by bringing diverse thinking to our business"
Edwin Wilches of PGIM takes our credit quiz

Past returns: Seven-year wait for equity payment
Five years ago we reported that equity investors in three legacy PGIM CLOs received a total of €1.1 million in distributions — seven years late. 

CLO managers don’t always prioritise profits

No hedges, but no problem for optimistic CLO investors
CLOs are prone to idiosyncratic risks, but investors have told Creditflux that they are confident about performance in 2020, despite the lack of hedging options. The general consensus is that some deals will suffer, but the vast majority will deliver after a disappointing end to 2019 for junior debt.

Credit funds at a glance
A round-up of fundraising and people moves in credit

Fund performance: CLO funds pick up where they left off
A round-up of fund performance

Ucits at a glance: Ucits start year on high note
A round-up of ucits fund performance

Fortress digests CraftWorks bankruptcy
CraftWorks Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday, with Fortress Investments holding all of the Tennessee restaurant operator's first lien debt - of which over half is in middle market CLOs. The New York-based firm has submitted a “stalking horse” bid to buy CraftWorks' assets

CLOs show coronavirus resistance even as bonds and loans suffer
CLO managers are - so far - looking defensively positioned in relation to the coronavirus outbreak, with only two of the five largest portfolio sectors listed as very negative in latest Wells Fargo research. But investor fears have all but closed the loan and bond primary pipeline, while lower rates signalled by the US Federal Reserve could spell a fall in leveraged loan and CLO demand

Making arb work of it
In 2019, some CLO managers hoped that good timing would enable them to lock in favourable arbitrage levels, but others opted for aggressive or conservative tactics when building portfolios. 

Post-reinvestment CLO hit by downgrade to Caa3 as warf rises
Moody’s has downgraded the F tranche of Halcyon Loan Advisors 2015-1, a 2015 vintage CLO managed by Bardin Hill Partners, to Caa3 from Caa2

European CLO managers with big bond buckets do best, finds Bank of America
European CLO managers that trade in the secondary market and hold a higher percentage of fixed rate assets are likely to outperform their peers, Bank of America finds in latest research

2016 MidOcean CLO suffers downgrade to triple C amid par losses
Moody’s has downgraded the junior-most debt tranche in MidOcean Credit CLO V to Caa1

CLO industry pushes back against NAIC's combo note proposals
A fight is brewing over the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ proposals to tighten regulations for insurers that buy purchase CLO combo notes