"In some ways, CLOs resemble a quirky, cottage industry more than a trillion-dollar market"
CLO volumes outstanding have passed $1 trillion, but index omission and private placements are holding us back

Credit Rendezvous: And breathe...
The unanimous verdict is that credit spreads will be moving wider – they have to. But the difficulty credit fund managers face is predicting when the next sell-off comes and how sharp it will be. In the Q3 instalment of Creditflux’s Credit Rendezvous, the over-riding message from portfolio managers is that there’s little point in taking on too much risk. The report features the views of prominent credit figures including Paul Horvath (Orchard), Himani Trivedi (Nuveen), Ronnie Jaber (Onex), Graham Rainbow (Alcentra) and Michelle Russell-Dowe (Schroders). The report looks at 14 segments of the market including CLOs, direct lending, leveraged loans, distressed debt and credit derivatives.  

BofA and State Street divided over CLO convertibles
A split has emerged in the approach between the two big buyers of triple A-rated CLO tranches that are structured as loans

BofA and Citi unveil multi-dealer platform for CLOs and loans
Bank of America and Citi have joined forces with plans for a multi-dealer CLO and loan platform which will cover trading, data and analytics

CLO managers eye bonds as short-dated loan universe shrinks
European CLO managers that focus on bonds say they had flexibility in the first quarter as the new issue loan pipeline ramped up

Barings sells €377m portfolio via b-wic to wind down European CLO
Barings was the seller of a mammoth €377 million loan b-wic on Thursday (12 February), Debtwire has reported

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

[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

Questions will need answering about where a manager's fiduciary responsibility lies
A university lecturer gives Welshcake a shock with a CLO presentation that points to shady trading games

Methodology tweaks could prove a boost for CLO warfs
Moody’s proposed CLO methodology changes could impact 8% of US and European CLO tranches positively, the rating agency says

Seaport hires veteran for European loan trading push
Seaport Global, an investment bank focused on capital markets, has hired a leveraged finance veteran as a managing director in Emea loans trading

US and Europe diverge as loan trading bands emerge on the continent
Europe and the US are on different courses with credit indices having drifted apart over the past month, say trading sources. Europe is expected to suffer fewer defaults to the extent that "it’s getting quite difficult for borrowers to default”, as one source put it. But the US has "higher growth potential due to its more dynamic economy"

Europe’s newcomers find ways to stand out
Last year’s new European CLO managers needed to provide something different for investors. In general, they’ve succeeded, with Capital Four having one of the smallest overlap figures in our data

CLOs face trading restrictions as bankruptcies mount
CLO managers could be handcuffed in impending bankruptcies if tranche downgrades continue and restricted trading periods kick in

A different kind of crisis
Panellists on Creditflux’s US CLO webinar were positive about the robustness of CLO structures and the role of cure contributions. But they warned about zombie defaults and gaming tests

Beneath the triple C: April showers send buckets overboard
Downgrade waves rocked the CLO market in April as Moody's and Standard & Poor's downgraded 135 corporate borrowers to triple C or below, from ratings above that level. The downgrades put CLOs in rough waters as $41.6 billion of such loans are prevalent in US CLOs while €5.64 are moored in European CLO portfolios – affecting 5.92% of the US market and 4.37% of the European market

Who’s got the moves Europe: CLO managers enjoy climb of Everest
The European S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan index enjoyed a strong month in April as it rose from 83 of par on 1 April to 89.2 by the end of the month. The index closed at 89.4 on 4 May to start the week 

CLO market braces for another wave of loan downgrades
A wave of negative rating actions swept the leveraged loan and CLO market in April. “Companies will look to secure incremental capital which will lead to further rating pressure,” says Philip Raciti, portfolio manager and head of US performing credit at Bardin Hill Investment Partners

Investors query loan b-wic objectives as trade rates plummet
Over €1 billion worth of loan paper has appeared in the form of European loan b-wics in March, according to market sources. But buyer appetite has been low

Silver lining: credit investors provided with lower entry points than Q4 2018
Oil shocks and the coronavirus outbreak, along with aftermath effects such as US Federal Reserve interventions and lockdowns, is providing credit investors with lower entry points than the Q4 2018 sell-off, say sources. Furthermore, an expected U-shaped rather than V-shaped recovery could provide a greater money multiple for opportunistic investments - if they can access them 

Ellington sells large chunk of assets from European CLO warehouse
Ellington Management sold €69.5 million from its CLO warehouse on a b-wic dated 12 March, according to market sources

Managers amend CLO structures amid refinancing ripple
CLO managers have deployed various measures to keep their deals ticking amid a European refinancing wave.

Established firms say managers new to European CLOs will struggle to attract assets
New managers making their way in the European CLO market may have a fight on their hands, with sources noting the difficulty these firms face in getting sizeable allocations.

Distressed loans get IHS Markit workover as tech service aims to cut settlement times
IHS Markit is unveiling an electronic solution through its ClearPar platform aimed at simplifying trade settlement for distressed leveraged loans, an area that has greatly lagged efficiency in the par loans market    

European CLO managers join tussle for high-quality loans
CLO managers which have been looking to de-risk their portfolios may have a fight on their hands if they seek to get hold of higher-quality paper in the primary market.