Maybe the only thing riskier than JPMorgan’s multifaceted private credit strategy is ignoring private credit entirely
No other bank has been as expansive in its attempts to join this market

This time around, BlackRock will be poised to be a shaper of the move
USD 12bn seems a lot to pay for HPS. But BlackRock urgently needed to catch up in private credit

The second Trump presidency is likely to turbocharge already frothy markets
The impact of Trump’s second term in the Oval Office will be wide-ranging for the US and the world. For credit markets, his return to power portends more intense competition between banks and private credit, and frothier deals.

US spending remains resilient despite financial worries
Consumption accounts for just under 70% of the GDP of the world’s largest economy. The good news is that (repeated) reports of the death of the US consumer seem greatly exaggerated.

As high rates hurt borrowers, private credit firms are hoping for an uptick in M&A
2020 vintage investments have distributed more than 80% less cash

The Last Tranche with Christine Ferris
In the latest edition of The Last Tranche podcast we talked to JP Morgan’s global head of CLO primary Christine Ferris about why she loves working with debut managers, despite the extra challenges they face coming to market.

Past returns: How Hildene took the lead
10 years ago in Creditflux we wrote about Hildene’s novel Hildene Leveraged Credit Fund, which was designed to take equity stakes in Hildene CLOs and provide a warehouse for forthcoming deals

"Never have the choices for issuers been more varied, nor the market dynamics more complex"
Direct lending deal terms are becoming more attractive in Europe

"I’m passionate about broader representation within investment teams"
CIP's Leila Donnachy takes our credit quiz 

"It’s not unusual for investors to toggle between the US and Europe depending on pricing and terms"
The accents may be different, but US and European direct lending markets have a lot in common

"Having multiple sources of data for investors is particularly helpful in opaque markets like private debt"
Our columnist looks at the new Lincoln International Senior Debt Index and finds total returns of 154.3 since 2014  

"We have to think about the influence of social media like Reddit"
Schroders' Michelle Russell-Dowe takes our credit quiz

We need to remove CLO misinformation from the market
Vibrant's Kashyap Arora takes our credit quiz

If you’re not finding black talent, you’re not trying hard enough
In the past few weeks, it has been easy to put up our billboards and tweet our condemnation of the treatment of black people. Now we need to change the way companies work

Liquidity is king. A company with a sound long-term value proposition may not last the next few weeks
For borrowers — and credit providers seeing revolvers drawn down — liquidity is the greatest concern

The opportunities to build par and spread within a CLO haven’t been this plentiful since 2009
Last year’s CLOs could become the benchmark for manager performance

Don’t be tempted by low debt costs — the key driver of performance in static CLOs is market timing

Points up front: Cap wearer plays trump card in support of SRT
Such has been the success of Donald Trump’s “make America great again” caps that structured credit folks have started sporting their own versions. Santander’s Jeremy Hermant has been seen in the streets of London proudly wearing a cap with the motto “make SRT great again”. Hermant works in the significant risk transfer team and tells Creditflux that he has been campaigning for SRTs for the past few years.

Experience has taught me to be sceptical of second lien loans
Alex Jackson takes our credit quiz

Points up front: Credit Suisse and Sound Point rekindle the fire
Sound Point CLO XII was refinanced on 14 February and arranger Credit Suisse displayed its passion for CLO structuring by embedding half a dozen hearts in its pricing email

Loans have changed. Leverage and docs are different. So what does this mean for recoveries?
With Fed chiefs past and present signalling rising financial risk, managers need to check their metrics, writes our columnist and Churchill Asset Management's head of capital markets and origination 

Past returns: Citi kickstarts CSO market
Five years ago in Creditflux, we reported on the revival of the synthetic CDO market, with Citi leading the push

Loan managers need an equity-like mindset instead of relying on docs
Octagon's Lauren Basmadjian takes our credit quiz and talks about buying CLO equity in 2009, the impact of technology on the retail sector and Eddie Murphy's 1980s heyday

No one knows when the next downturn will come, but for now we can hope for a soft landing
Our columnist, Churchill Asset Management's Randy Schwimmer, addresses the question that is baffling credit market participants: exactly where are we in the credit cycle? 

We are not structured finance investors – we are corporate credit specialists
Fair Oaks' Miguel Ramos-Fuentenebro takes our credit quiz