Moody’s forecasts robust economic performance underpinning continued strength in CLOs
The ratings agency’s outlook for 2025 is upbeat about the prospects for both the US and European CLO markets, helped by declining leveraged loan defaults

Direct lenders add pricey terms on amend-and-extend deals
Companies negotiating an amendment with direct lenders might find the deal costly as most demand extra fees, payment and security to execute, according to a new survey

Deutsche Bank forecasts record new issuance for European CLOs in 2025
Deutsche Bank Research is forecasting a record EUR 50bn in gross new issue CLO supply for the European CLO market in 2025, with net issuance projected to increase to EUR 25bn

BNP Paribas develops 'call score' for US CLOs
The new feature, dubbed ‘Call Score’, rates deals on a scale between 0 and 100, with the aim of identifying CLO deals that are imminent call candidates

Triple C assets and capital preservation
In the US and Europe, better performing CLOs tend to hold fewer triple C assets. But even so, a third of top performing CLOs in the US have more than 6% of their assets in the triple C bucket.

Direct lending defaults decline for all except middle market according to Proskauer
Default rates for US direct loans declined to 1.95% in the third quarter of 2024 from 2.71% in the second quarter, according to a new report from law firm Proskauer

Static deals stand out in Europe
European CLO equity in redeemed deals has delivered excellent returns. But managers might be surprised to discover that static deals are the region’s stars

European CLOs see jump in triple-C exposure, says Fitch
European CLOs have seen their exposure to assets rated triple-C or below increase sharply, reaching an average of 5.0%

European distress remains muted but trouble is brewing in Industrials
European Industrials rose to be the second most distressed sector in August, according to a new report based on the Weil European Distress Index

LBOs on the rebound: How leveraged loans are stealing the spotlight from direct lenders in 2024
2024 has seen a resurgence in LBO activity, with many of the largest deals opting for leveraged loans over direct lending for financing

Defaults hit 5% YTD for US private debt-backed companies according to Fitch
The monthly default rate for North American private credit-backed companies hit 5% in August, driven by PIKs and interest deferrals

Reset or refinancing?
The CLO market is expecting another strong half year for both resets and refinancings. But what factors are leading equity investors to prefer resetting deals over refinancing them?

JP Morgan revises CLO spread target upwards as recession fears mount
Off the back of renewed recession fears JP Morgan has revised its end-of-year AAA CLO spread target upwards to 150bps for both the US and Europe

European managers struggle to add alpha
Before the COVID pandemic, European CLOs comfortably outperformed the Morningstar European Euro-Denominated Loan Index. Since then, alpha has declined for many managers

New survey explores middle-market CLO operations
S&P Global Market Intelligence, in collaboration with Creditflux, conducted a study of middle-market CLO managers to assess how specialists are adapting their operations to tap this burgeoning opportunity

Barclays sees record European CLOs for 2024
Barclays expects a record year for CLO deals in Europe, raising its issuance forecast to EUR 40-45bn in a report released this week

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