EIB buys mezzanine tranche in Commerzbank SRT
Commerzbank has launched a €1.5 billion significant risk transfer with the European Investment Bank (EIB) announcing that it has invested in the mezzanine tranche of the securitisation

Whiting Petroleum CDS gaps wider as it engages debt advisors
Credit event concerns have taken CDX HY constituent Whiting Petroleum to a recent wide print, after the energy exploration firm’s management held talks with advisors to find ways to remedy its capital structure

Renault hits bump in flat markets
The future of Nissan’s relationship with Renault has been in question since last year. But the likelihood of the companies parting ways has increased since Nissan’s former chairman Carlos Ghosn, who faced charges of financial crimes, fled from Japan to Lebanon in December

CSO arrangers look to build on $65bn of issuance in 2019
The synthetic bespoke tranche market this year has fallen short of expectations in terms of overall issuance volume, but ends with transformative inroads being made.

No 2020 recession, cyclical bonds will outperform and CLOs won't crash, says BNP Paribas
There will not be a recession in 2020 and investors should stay long credit with the expectation that high yield cyclical and non-financial borrowers will outperform in a bullish market, BNP Paribas strategists have confidently predicted

Creditors left with sour taste as two food companies file for bankruptcy
Credit investors have been left to digest two US food company bankruptcy filings this week, with dairy producer Dean Foods triggering the first credit event to hit on-the-run series 33 of the CDX HY index, while Houlihan's Restaurants has also sought protection

Credit CIO Finch leaves GLG
Simon Finch has parted ways with Man GLG, according to market sources, ending an 18-month stay at the firm where he served as chief investment officer for credit

BlueMountain starts new chapter as co-founder leaves and it winds down hedge fund
There are sweeping changes taking place at BlueMountain Capital Management, with the firm announcing that co-founder Stephen Siderow is leaving and that it is winding down its flagship hedge fund, BlueMountain Credit Alternatives Fund

Date set for long-delayed Steinhoff auction, with two deliverables
An auction to settle CDS referencing Steinhoff Europe will take place on Wednesday next week – six months after the Determinations Committee ruled that the retailer had triggered a failure-to-pay credit event

Draghi sends European credit to 2019 tights, as Trump demands Fed response
European investment grade credit – and particularly the financial sector – surged tighter today as European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, in the penultimate meeting of his reign, unveiled a ‘whatever it takes’ stimulus

Steinhoff credit event auction finally in sight after restructuring concludes
A long-awaited auction to settle CDS referencing retailer Steinhoff Europe has moved a step closer, with the EMEA Determinations Committee noting the restructuring effective date has happened and the company voluntary arrangement (CVA) has been fully implemented

Credit traders' kickstand: nervous equilibrium gives way to weakness as earnings and tariffs weigh
Healthy fund inflows, European and US holidays, and a thinning primary market helped sustain credit spreads this week, but a weaker turn today shows this is a fragile equilibrium and company earnings misses are starting to be punished more severely

Mizuho appoints US and European credit trading heads in leadership shake-up
The hires include a newly created CLO role, head of credit trading, and head of special situations and illiquid trading 

Synthetic structured credit specialist lands at Brigade
A former Lehman Brothers structured credit specialist has landed at Brigade Capital Management in New York

High beta's time to shine in next leg of rally, says BAML
High-beta credits have yet to reward expectations they would lead the market rally in 2019, but this is about to change, according to a research note by Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Steinhoff CDS auction in limbo due to lock-up and CVA
A date to settle CDS referencing Steinhoff Europe had still to be agreed as Creditflux went to press — more than a month on from when the EMEA Determinations Committee (DC) ruled that the company had triggered a failure-to-pay credit event.

Bespoke gains pull CLO buyers as market tipped to hit $100bn
Synthetic bespoke issuance could catch up with the more visible CLO market this year, say structured credit specialists

New manager Resco lands ex-credit head to found advisory board
Resco Asset Management, a London based asset manager set up last year, has appointed the first of an anticipated three advisory board members

Triple B fightback has begun, says BNP Paribas
Fallen angel risk – the possibility that a wave of triple B credits could be cut by rating agencies to sub-investment grade – should begin to decline, according to strategists at BNP Paribas

HSBC boosts single name CDS and index trading with experienced hire
HSBC has added a former index trading head to its credit team in London

Deutsche plots single name CDS return and index push with two senior hires
Deutsche Bank has made two senior credit trading hires to its London office, with sources saying these portend a revival of its CDS market-making business

CDS sell-off brings profit-taking opportunity for basis trade players
Profit-taking on basis trades between CDS and cash bonds has begun, with the strong run for credit markets since the start of the year having hit a bump yesterday

Credit spread improvement is calm before the storm, warn strategists
European and US credit markets have begun 2019 with a more buoyant tone than they ended 2018, but strategists warn that bearish factors still outweigh and suggest the overall direction of spreads this year is likely to be wider