Vaccine boosts credit as PE firms open up to bridge loans
The leveraged loan and CLO markets ended 2020 on a long-awaited high after multiple vaccines for covid-19 were rubber-stamped by regulators

Global CLO b-wic round-up: junior tranches trade above par as US volumes reach $45bn
A busy week of over $1.4 billion of US CLO secondary bonds and €290 million of European CLO paper gave light to CLO spreads across the capital structure continuing their push towards pre-covid levels

It's all relative: Euro CLO mezz rallies to follow month-long IG/HY compression
European credit suffered this week with Brexit talks between the UK and the EU dragging on and both sides conceding that a trade deal is unlikely to be reached by Sunday’s deadline. But European CLO tranches have held up reasonably well with mezzanine spreads tightening by almost 13% in December

All’s well that ends well in 2020 OC tests

Global CLO league tables - November 2020 YTD
Global CLO league tables - November 2020 YTD

Europe leads corporate credit rally, but US outperforms in CLOs
iTraxx Crossover has been the CDS market's outperformer this week, tightening over 30 basis points, or 11.4%, to trade at 235bp today. But in the CLO market, US deals have come out on top thanks to a BlackRock CLO that priced its double Bs at some of the tightest levels this year

CLO pipeline: LCM switches arranger to complete deal and join issuance surge
Over $3.5 billion of global CLO issuance priced last week and managers in all three CLO markets are taking advantage of tightening spreads across the capital structure after three major covid-19 vaccine breakthroughs and increased confidence since the US presidential election

Global CLO b-wic round-up: Junior tranches rally amid heavy supply, including portfolio liquidation
The US CLO secondary market rally is showing no signs of slowing down after a week of over $1 billion worth of bonds was listed and well absorbed, according to market sources. The European market also had a roust week with over €300 million of paper up for grabs, although the market stayed generally flat with some tightening in double and single Bs

OC health check: 41 CLOs heal their breaches
147 CLOs breached an over-collateralisation test in October, down from 183 in September. 41 CLOs that breached an OC test in September passed all OC tests in October, most of which had October payment dates

CLO pipeline: New issuance pause ends as managers look to gain from rallying spreads
It is two and a half weeks since the last US CLO new issue priced, but that is set to change and Bridgepoint’s debut European transaction on Friday brought an end to Europe’s own two-and-a-half-week primary break

Global CLO b-wic round-up: Secondary markets rally despite ‘worst liquidity seen all year’
An adjournment in the US for Veterans Day last week still left plenty of time for the CLO secondary market to rally, thanks to Pfizer's covid-19 vaccine breakthrough and a firmer indication of the US presidential election results

US and European CLO PMs earn promotion as Carlyle's Pace takes on new role
Carlyle Group’s global head of liquid credit has decided to take on a new role as vice chair of global credit, according to an internal memo seen by Creditflux, which will involve investing capital across the Carlyle platform

Beneath the triple C: cinemas get clipped but default picture improves
14 corporate debt issuers were downgraded to triple C or below in October by Moody’s or Standard & Poor’s – hurting $3.15 billion of US CLO loans, €761.73 million of European CLO portfolios and $37.95 million of middle market CLOs loans, according to CLO-i. Cinema chains were among those to suffer last month

Global CLO league tables - October 2020 YTD
Global CLO league tables - October 2020 YTD

B-wic appearances boost CLO equity valuations
CLO investors who use third party valuations say that CLO equity may be undervalued

Managers brave covid-hit sectors to drum up returns
Price dislocations among companies operating in industries affected by covid-19 mean they may offer some of the best opportunities for CLO managers and CSO investors — and sources say that neglecting these sectors could hurt performance

CLOs at a glance
A listing of CLOs that have priced in the last month

Insurance firm seeks CLO debt and ABS exposure
Investment consultant Callan is requesting proposals on behalf of an undisclosed insurance company for a CLO manager and ABS manager

Global b-wic round-up: Europe drifts wider
The CLO secondary market had a robust week with $860 million of US CLO paper and €315 million worth of European CLO bonds listed. But spreads widened off the back of concerns over lockdowns across the globe, the increased risk of downgrades and tomorrow’s US presidential election

CLO pipeline: deal flow slows ahead of US election
Only two forthcoming new issue US CLOs have been added to the pipeline this week as the election slowdown hits credit markets. This comes after eight new issue US CLOs and five European CLOs have priced over the last ten days during the pre-election rush

CLO Census results: Citi comes out top but several banks make big leaps
Citi has been voted top in five out of the eight primary CLO categories as part of the 2020 Creditflux CLO Census, but BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Natixis are among the banks that have made huge strides compared to last year

OC health check: CLOs wake up when September ends
September showed a slight but clear improvement in CLOs’ over-collateralisation test results as 182 CLOs breached an OC test during the reporting period, compared to 198 in August.

CLO pipeline: fixed income giants plan debut 2.0s with Morgan Stanley
Two large fixed income managers are pre-marketing debut 2.0 CLOs

[update] Beneath the triple C: theme parks take portfolios on downward ride
Seven corporate debt issuers were downgraded to triple C or below in September by Moody’s or Standard and Poor’s – hurting $2.16 billion of US CLO loans and €1.16 billion of European CLO portfolio. The pace of CLO loan downgrades to triple C has slowed steadily since the peak in April