Mizuho’s credit trading head departs in London
Mizuho's head of credit trading has departed after just over a year, a spokesperson at the bank has confirmed.

DC accepts New Look failure-to-pay credit event question
The Europe, Middle East and Africa Determinations Committee has accepted a request to rule on whether New Look has triggered a failure-to-pay credit event

Ellington hires business development head in London
Ellington Management Group has appointed Jonas Frantz to head up business development in Europe and the Middle East, according to market sources

BNP Paribas AM hires Robeco investment specialist for quant strategies
BNP Paribas Asset Management has appointed Grégory Taïeb for the newly-created role of investment specialist within the firm’s multi-asset, quantitative and solutions investment group, which includes investments in credit.  

The Last Tranche: awards season is upon us [podcast]
A look at 2018 award offerings and finalist, plus some insight on direct lending and b-wics

Oak Hill reshuffles leadership in Europe
Oak Hill Advisors has appointed three long-serving members of its investment and business development teams to lead the European office

Jefferies subsidiary and Stonyrock plan mid-market alternative manager stake acquisitions
The new joint venture will invest in private equity, credit, hedge funds, real estate, venture, and infrastructure firms

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

Belgian pension fund appoints JP Morgan to run allocations to alternative investments
Hydralis, the statutory pension manager of Belgium water utility Vivaqua, has appointed JP Morgan to manage the fund’s allocation to unlisted assets for an eight years period, Creditflux has learned.  

Regulation stifles SRTs, but banks and investors revel in quarter-four outperformance
Over the course of 2018 there was roughly €6.5 billion of issuance in the market for significant risk transfer (SRT) deals, sources say, with the last three months understood to be the busiest quarter on record

AP4 keeps eye on direct unlisted investments, amid 2018 losses
AP4, the SEK 349.3 billion ($37.3 billion) pension fund, has lost 0.2% after costs from its entire portfolio for the year 2018  

Universal-Investment names CEO in management team shake-up
Universal-Investment, the €411bn asset manager, has appointed a new chief executive officer who will begin in that job from May  

Ares grows credit 34% with direct lending boost, but high yield takes rough ride in Q4
Ares Management Corporation reported strong returns for its European direct lending strategies in the fourth quarter of 2018. But the firm's overall revenues slumped and its US loan funds and high yield strategies were hit by the volatile credit market 

Performing credit tops distressed credit for Blackstone, but credit AUM declines
The firm is looking to boost its direct lending business to gain $10 billion of available capital over the next couple of years

NN hires head of fixed income and responsible investing
NN Investment Partners (NN IP), a Dutch insurer and investment manager, has appointed a head of fixed income and responsible investing

Robeco looks to align macro fixed income with credit as it makes senior hire
Robeco has hired Jamie Stuttard as co-head of the global fixed income macro team and fixed income strategist  

Muzinich poaches Neuberger Berman MD for top fund distribution role
Muzinich has hired a global head of distribution, according to an announcement today, picking up the role previously held by Joshua Hughes, who left for CIFC Asset Management in May

US regulation drives insurance money towards credit ETFs
Institutional investors are increasingly allocating to credit exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but their motivations are changing. These vehicles are famed for their liquidity, but several investors are said to be pouring money into them for the long term amid regulatory changes which have made ETF investments more favourable

LMA seeks no-deal Brexit safety net for European lending
European regulators have voiced concerns about the potential damage a no-deal Brexit scenario would do to the syndicated loan market and the wider European Union economy

GSO co-founder plans new credit business
GSO Capital Partners co-founder Tripp Smith is launching his own credit management firm, according to a report by Bloomberg

Cairn sheds light on single-investment SRT fund
Fresh details have emerged on Cairn Capital’s new significant risk transfer (SRT) funds with the manager informing Creditflux that Pathfinder Fund III was structured such with US requirements in mind

Cairn adds two SRT funds to its roster
Cairn Capital has raised $150 million across two significant risk transfer (SRT) funds - with differing mandates - according to an announcement by the firm

Neuberger Berman unveils three European fixed income funds
The three new European fixed income portfolios will be managed by Patrick Barbe and his six-strong team, who all recently joined from BNP Paribas

Lothian pension fund appoints CEO
Lothian Pension Fund has appointed a new chief executive officer, effective from February 2019, to replace Clare Scott, who is leaving at the end of 2018  

Market favours retrospective over forward-looking approach to Ibor benchmark fallbacks, says Isda
New benchmark fallbacks for derivatives contracts that reference interbank offered rates are likely to be based on the “compounded setting in arrears rate” and the “historical mean/median approach to the spread adjustment”, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association has said