A fiery start to the year
Welcome to the first issue of the Creditflux magazine for 2026. Our cover pays homage to the Lunar New Year, which begins on February 17 and is symbolised by the horse

Software loans face further declines as AI fears persist
The rapid deployment of artificial intelligence is wreaking havoc with software companies that not long ago were darlings of the US leveraged loans market

CLO market dulled by software spillover
The new year kicked off with one of the most bullish sentiments ever for the CLO market. Already, barely into February, the mood has been tempered

‘This is a perfect storm for the loan market’
Investing Corner with Michael Sobol, global head of investing at Blackstone

US lev loans, CLO spreads move in opposite directions as market worries deepen over software loans
ANALYSIS: The unusual dynamic has been driven by worries about disruption from artificial intelligence, as investors fret about the potentially wide-ranging impacts across a range of sectors

AI to boost credit markets in 'bullish' 2026 – Janus Henderson head of multi-sector credit John Lloyd
A productivity boost powered by AI is just one of the reasons for investors to be upbeat about fixed income and credit generally, says John Lloyd, global head of multi-sector credit at Janus Henderson, on the latest episode of Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee

Key theme for 2026 will be growth in the loan market – Eagle Point founder Tom Majewski

Growth in the loan market will be an important market driver this year, the founder of Eagle Point Credit Management says on the latest episode of Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee; also shares Eagle Point ressearch that shows LMEs at 2% per year on top of default rates

Lev loan guidance shift will challenge private credit CLOs, bring more new loan supply – Shenkman
EXCLUSIVE: Regulators rolling back restrictive guidance around leveraged lending could help traditional bank lenders claw back market share from US direct lenders

New loan shop Mountain Point eyes move into the CLO market
EXCLUSIVE: The manager, which launched last week with a focus on broadly syndicated loans in partnership with Eagle Point, is considering opportunities in the CLO market.

Tariffs will push up default rates for several years, say agencies and managers
After an uptick in leveraged loan defaults culled weaker credits in 2024, many expected default rates to fall in 2025. But the uncertainty stemming from the Trump administration’s tariffs means those assumptions are now under threat

US CLO and leveraged loan market roiled by dramatic Trump tariffs
ANALYSIS: Leveraged loans and CLO fell lower in the aftermath's of President Donald Trump's new tariffs 

Go upmarket when investing in credit, says Oak Hill's Schrager
Senior managing partner at Oak Hill Advisors, Alan Schrager, discusses private credit volumes, cross-currents in credit markets, and issues including tariffs and defaults in Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee podcast

Fund performance
Entering the final three months of the year, CLO funds took a clean sweep of the top 10 spots in the Creditflux tables. October was strong overall, as over 85% of funds listed made positive returns

Altice France reminds creditors that unrestricted subsidiaries can be freely spun-off
Altice France's debt documents permit the XpFibre spin-off, and most credit agreements and high yield bond indentures permit the distribution of the equity in unrestricted subsidiaries

Trump victory raises hopes for high yield markets, M&A revival
Leverage finance markets cheered Donald Trump’s win on the prospect the former president’s return to the White House will unleash deregulation and M&A, lower taxes and higher economy growth

Octaura launches new protocol for CLO liquidations
Electronic loan trading platform Octaura has released a new set of processes to streamline loan BWICs and OWICs

JetBlue's new loan struggles to take flight
CLO managers had less appetite for JetBlue’s new loan after the airline was downgraded to B3 and B- 

Strong run helps CLOs shrug off Altice downgrade
It may be the largest triple C downgrade in years, but the CLO market is relatively unperturbed by Altice’s fall from grace.

CLO managers laud market’s shift away from direct lending
This year’s annual SFVegas shindig had a record 8,900 registered delegates, and every CLO panel included a discussion of two key themes, including the highly publicised fight between the broadly syndicated loan space and private credit lenders.

Credit hedge funds
Credit hedge funds

Credit funds at a glance
Credit funds at a glance

Wave of legal hires becomes a tsunami
In February alone legal heavyweights Allen & Overy, DLA Piper, Fried Frank, Kirkland & Ellis, Proskauer Rose and White & Case all announced the arrival of partners in the credit space

Credit hedge funds
Credit hedge fund performance

Credit funds at a glance
Credit funds at a glance

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