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?

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

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

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.

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

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

Investor wades into debate on whether CLO BB notes are literally underrated
The latest piece of thought-provoking research from Flat Rock Global broaches the thorny topic of structured credit ratings, asking “Are CLO BB Notes Investment Grade?”

November 2023 US Leveraged Highlights
Debtwire today releases the November 2023 US Leveraged Highlights, featuring key trends in the leveraged loan and high-yield bond markets

November 2023 European Leveraged Highlights
Debtwire today releases the November 2023 European Leveraged Highlights, containing key trends in the leveraged loan and high-yield bond markets

European CLOs win out against US deals
Last month, our analysis explored the performance of US CLOs that were previously reset. We found that they delivered higher distributions than deals which weren’t reset, with the exception of the 2017 and 2018 vintages (Creditflux September 2023 — Do resets help CLOs perform better?). This article expands that analysis to the European market, and compares the performance of US BSL and EU CLO equity tranches.

Do resets help CLOs perform better?
As the market for CLO resets opens, we look at the performance of deals that were previously reset, and find they soon deliver higher distributions than those deals that were not reset

Manager tiering matters, but don’t rely on proxies like WAS or WARF
With manager tiering continuing to dominate CLO primary pricing levels we take a look at the 2021 vintage to see how much difference a manager really makes to deal performance

Large CLO managers outperform their smaller peers
Size does matter according to our latest research that finds that larger US CLO managers have consistently outperformed their smaller counterparts.

Secondary CLO prices continued to rise across June
US BWIC secondary prices continued to rise in June, according to a report by KopenTech.