A lot of CLO portfolios look similar and I’ve never been one to follow the herd
Zais's Vinnie Ingato takes our credit quiz

Who’s got the moves US: oil and gas leads renaissance for US CLO managers
The US leveraged loan market has held steady over the last two weeks. After rising to just below 87 of par in mid-April, the S&P LSTA US Leveraged Loan index closed at 85.75 to start this week

Credit pickers need luck to avoid OC trap

OC health check: another two CLOs fail senior OC tests
Two senior overcollateralisation test failures number among 26 deals joining the list this week of CLOs breaching their OC tests in April, according to the latest trustee reports on CLO-i.

Making arb work of it

Making arb work of it
In 2019, some CLO managers hoped that good timing would enable them to lock in favourable arbitrage levels, but others opted for aggressive or conservative tactics when building portfolios. 

Zais short-dated CLO prices triple As wide of market at 141.9bp
Zais Group has gone the short-dated route for a new issue CLO, Zais CLO 14, which Goldman Sachs arranged

CLOs dock $100 million of Pier 1 as it plunges into Chapter 11
CLOs hold just over $100 million debt of Pier 1 Imports, which filed for voluntary Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia yesterday 

CLO pipeline: make some noise for repricings
CLOs may be a bit late to the spread-tightening party, but a hoard of CLO repricings is aiming to make up for it by sheer volume

Zais markets short two-year CLO via Goldman Sachs
Zais Group is in the market with Goldman Sachs with its latest new issue CLO

High-spread CLO manager pre-markets short-dated deal
A CLO manager which is known for building high spread portfolios is pre-marketing a two year deal with price talk on the triple As at 120-125bp 

Falling correlation reignites passion for index tranche trades
Dispersion in the global corporate credit market is rekindling interest in correlation trading, with dealer sources reporting that a late surge lifted 2019 index tranche volumes to $250 billion.

Few CLOs charred by Murray bankruptcy
25 CLO managers hold  $389.6 million exposure to the debt of coal company Murray Energy Holdings, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of Ohio on Tuesday, according to the latest trustee reports from CLO-i   

Beyond blacklists: the next step in ESG
Credit managers are integrating ESG into their investment processes, but that does not mean they are unable to invest in unethical credits — they can, if they are paid adequately for the risk.

Zais revamps credit policy to reflect ESG
Zais Group has become the latest credit manager to implement an environmental, social and governance policy across its business

US credit managers make ESG breakthrough after taking a first step via UNPRI
Incorporating a framework for investing in companies based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors is a challenge that US credit managers are accepting in growing numbers

US CLO league tables: JP Morgan narrows gap to Citi in new issues to $50 million
July saw $14.9 billion of issuance in the US CLO space with $9.4 billion of that in new issue CLOs. One of the transactions brought to the market was Whitebox Capital Management’s debut CLO, Whitebox I.

Zais prices new CLO with record five classes of fixed-rate debt
Zais Group has priced a new issue CLO via JP Morgan that issues five classes of debt paying fixed rates of interest

ResponsAbility closes impact securitisation at $175 million
ResponsAbility, a Zurich-headquartered impact assessment manager, has closed a $175 million securitisation of loans to microfinance and SME-finance providers in emerging markets

CLO pipeline: Barclays and Goldman branch out to mid market
The US CLO pipeline has been full in recent weeks and this continues, with 18 new issue CLOs and a further nine refinancings appearing this week.

Seriously, the CLO arb is difficult right now

Seriously, the CLO arb is difficult right now
We know the arbitrage for CLO equity is never perfect, but the arb progressively deteriorated through 2018. Since January, the picture has worsened further after a brief respite in December

Zais prices third new issue CLO of 2018 with triple As paying 137.5bp
Zais Group priced its third new issue CLO of the year on Friday, with Bank of America Merrill Lynch the arranger

Wide CLO pricing need not be a drag
Established managers can price CLO liabilities at attractive levels, but we find that CLOs saddled with higher financing costs have nevertheless been among the market’s outstanding performers

Wide CLO pricing need not be a drag
Established managers can price CLO liabilities at attractive levels, but we find that CLOs saddled with higher financing costs have nevertheless been among the market’s outstanding performers