Older CLOs show they’ve still got it
The CLO primary market is vibrant — but some older vintages are still performing very well. We look at the equity performance of US BSL CLOs that have exited their reinvestment period

Bank holdings of CLOs drop by nearly 3% in first quarter
US bank holdings of CLOs fell 2.93% to USD 199bn in the first quarter, as repayments outweighed purchases of the securities

Technical strength drives primary US CLOs spreads below historical norms
Triple As are now pricing on top of historical levels, and other investment-grade CLO tranches are already pricing much tighter than historical trends, thanks to the technical strength observed in the primary US BSL CLO market

Do defaults predict equity returns?
At first glance, recently redeemed European CLOs show some sort of correlation between final IRR and the number of defaults in their portfolio. But what other factors affect performance?

Higher interest rates have caused more private credit downgrades, new report says
The lagging impact of higher interest rates is resulting in a sizeable uptick in private credit downgrades, according to a new report from KBRA

Middle market portfolios aren't immune to rate stress, according to new research
Two research reports published this week highlighted ongoing risks in middle market structured credit portfolios

European WAL test language is getting a little looser finds Dealscribe
The latest quarter has seen some loosening of WAL test laguage for European CLOs, according to document analysts Dealscribe

US loan volume nears record levels
In Q1 2024 quarterly institutional loan issuance reached its second highest level on record. The period also saw the lowest quarterly share of new money issuance, at just 13% of total activity

IACPM survey finds credit PMs still gloomy, but less so than last quarter
Respondents to the latest IACPM Credit Outlook Survey are still negative about future credit conditions, but less so than in previous surveys

Thirty years strong - new S&P report highlights resilience of CLO structures
If you’re feeling battered by the relentless Altice coverage, S&P Global Ratings has come out with a timely reminder that dealing with distress is something CLOs do exceptionally well

Global Loan Highlights 1Q24: Don’t call it a comeback
Loan refinancing share hits historic high, but IG issuance stymies YoY global growth

February 2024 US Leveraged Highlights
Debtwire today releases the February 2024 US Leveraged Highlights, featuring key trends in the leveraged loan and high-yield bond markets.

Deutsche Bank and PSL launch index for European CLOs
Deutsche Bank has launched a total-return benchmark index for euro-denominated CLO debt.

Barclays raises 2024 US BSL CLO new issue forecast
Barclays has become the latest bank research desk to increase its 2024 US BSL CLO new issue forecast

How many CLOs will be reset?
Tightening liability spreads aren’t just driving record new CLO issuance this year — they’re also triggering a wave of resets and refinancings in the US, especially for broadly syndicated CLOs

How many CLOs will be called this year?
Most CLOs are called when loan market prices are high. Distributions and equity NAV are also important, and they suggest that over 30 2017 and 2018 deals are now ripe for redemption

European CLO equity distributions keep getting better, US keep getting worse
The latest distributions for post-reinvestment US CLOs show the impact of rapid prepayment rates, but post-reinvestment European CLOs are bucking that trend and seem to be improving with age.

Ask the market where spreads are heading
Nothing brings the CLO market together like a good moan about the state of the arb. But according to our data, the arbitrage for new-issue US CLOs has remained in the same range for years. 

Fresh wave of CLO calls looms as US equity distributions drop
Equity distributions for US CLOs outside their reinvestment period continue to fall as prepayments cut into cashflows

European CLO primary spreads still have a long way to go
Are European CLO spreads in the primary market cheap or expensive? Our latest research shows that while US managers can celebrate AAAs reaching the 150s, in Europe spreads still have a long way to go to reach historical norms.

Covenants update: State of the US Loan Market 4Q23
Xtract Research has published its 4Q23 report into the state of the US loan market. Highlights from the report include the following.

New report finds 2023 a record year for alternative credit M&A
A new report on “Acquisitions of Alternative Credit Managers” by credit specialist Gapstow forecasts that more M&A activity lies ahead for credit firms as they struggle with the challenges facing the broader investment management industry

DebtDynamics EMEA: Size matters
Direct lending margins widen on small deals, with an enlarging gap to other deals in the latest DebtDynamics EMEA research 

Credit PMs remain gloomy in latest IACPM survey
Survey participants in the latest IACPM Credit Outlook Survey believe the euphoria seen in global financial markets during the last few months of 2023 was overdone

New research says that CLO arb is better than you think, but still not good enough
New research by Barclays’ Powell Eddins and Pranava Boyidapu suggests that CLO arbitrage is in a better place than many investors think, but that BBs are still more attractive