Chicago pension fund hires three firms for hedged credit portfolio
Laborers’ and Retirement Board Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago (LABF) has awarded $60 million across three firms for investments in hedged credit.  

Creditex obtains CFTC swap execution facility exemption
Creditex, the electronic brokerage for corporate bonds and credit default swaps, has been granted an exemption from a requirement to register with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a swap execution facility

Sears CDS external review panel named to solve Determinations Committee impasse
The North America Determinations Committee has selected an external review panel to decide whether two Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp debt obligations can be delivered into an auction to settle the US retailer’s credit default swaps, having failed to achieve a strong enough quorum among its own 15 members

Crossover converges on CDX HY as Fed, earnings and heavy technicals take hold
Big moves of single name credits continue to hold sway over the iTraxx Europe Crossover credit default swap index, whose underperformance of US counterpart CDX HY has extended during the past week amid a big technical repositioning of flows

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

Credit sell-off has room to run and pricing is out of whack, says BNP Paribas
The credit market sell-off could have further to go despite recent widening and is “in the process of a late-stage business cycle unwind”, according to a strategist note seen by Creditflux

European CDS index tightens inside US even as bonds languish
Credit derivatives markets have hit a key point of trend reversal this week, with the iTraxx Europe five-year CDS index trading inside its US counterpart CDX IG for the first time since May

September: Ucits at a glance
Ucits funds continue to post mixed returns

Europe-US convergence poses trading conundrum
A convergence between European and US investment grade credit index spreads over recent weeks has left strategists nonplussed, with some suggesting a trend reversal could be on the way

Past returns: Citi kickstarts CSO market
Five years ago in Creditflux, we reported on the revival of the synthetic CDO market, with Citi leading the push

Points up front: Creditflux makes significant SRT call
They were once referred to as regulatory capital relief trades (or reg-cap trades), but now no one can agree on what to call them

DTCC begins test phase for blockchain credit derivatives platform
15 of the world’s largest banks have begun testing the blockchain-based credit derivatives platform by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation

Sears CDS auction deliverables rejected due to lack of docs and identifiers, says DC
An auction to settle credit default swaps referencing Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp did not include several obligations on its initial list of deliverables due to lack of documentation or isin/cusip identifiers, the Americas Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee has said

Seven deliverables valid for Sears CDS auction, as seven others split DC panel
There will be seven obligations deliverable into an auction on 14 November to settle credit default swaps referencing Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp, the Americas Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee has decided. But members of the 15-strong DC were split over whether to include another seven potential deliverables that did not make the cut

Weatherford CDS routed as quarterly loss adds to ratings woes
Five-year credit default swaps referencing CDX HY constituent Weatherford International have weathered a battering over recent days

Pimco generates listed opportunistic energy credit fund
Pimco is eyeing the energy sector for a new opportunistic credit fund, according to US regulatory filings.

Supermarket scramble as SuperValu CDS surges wider on UNFI buy-out
The spread of five-year credit default swaps referencing SuperValu, a CDX HY index constituent, more than doubled yesterday, according to IHS Markit data

Sears CDS deliverables to be decided Friday ahead of 14 November credit event auction
The Americas Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee will meet this Friday (26 October) to decide auction terms and deliverable obligations for credit default swaps referencing Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp

Derivatives margin threshold should be €100 billion notional not €8 billion, says Isda
A regulatory threshold that requires counterparties to post initial margin (IM) on derivatives trades if they hold €8 billion notional or more exposure should be raised to €100 billion, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association has argued

CLO baskets empty as Sears declares bankruptcy
Although Sears has been a prevalent name in loan trading over the years, it had been cleared from most CLO portfolios well before the event

Isda transfers credit determinations secretary role to subsidiary
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association has relinquished its role as secretary to the credit derivatives determinations committees (DCs) with the appointment of a new unit, DC Administration Services (DCAS), to manage this function

White & Case promotes seven debt specialists to partner
The law firm has promoted several debt specialists to partners around the world

Isda extends deadline for derivatives benchmark consultation
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association has extended the fast-approaching deadline for its consultation on derivatives benchmark fallbacks, to allow more time for responses

Market rout drives US/Europe credit convergence, as Brazil leads Latin widening
Credit spreads have sharply widened globally as financial markets are being rocked by concerns for a trade war and rising US rates. An equity-led rout in the US yesterday afternoon

Man Numeric launches credit platform and appoints co-heads of credit
Man Numeric, the quantitative investment business of Man Group, has launched a new credit unit and appointed two officials to lead the business