The ideal home for a loan

Direct lenders start to overcome bank dominance in Spain
Spain is becoming a popular destination for direct lenders — despite the competitive terms offered by local banks. Sources say that borrowers are starting to look beyond pricing to ease of execution and flexible documentation.

CLO pipeline: managers look to avoid a repeat of 2018 with new issue flutter
US and European CLO managers are preparing to up the ante in September, but they will have to defy a trend set a year ago

Credit funds at a glance
A round-up of fundraising and people moves in credit

Ares credit business grows 4.4%, driven by US direct lending
US and European direct lending, alternative credit and syndicated loan funds dove growth for Ares Management Corporation in the second quarter, the firm said

Global CLO b-wic round-up: 71% of equity positions trade as supply picks up
The European and US secondary CLO market took a step back this week as the primary CLO generated $7.8 billion of deal flow globally

Ares and Barings lead the way as triple A spreads regain lost ground
CLO triple A spreads in Europe have reached their tightest point in months, with two deals issuing their first pay notes at 108 basis points over Euribor

Direct lender hires head of credit as it closes in on European mid market CLO
BeSpoke Capital has made a big hire as part of a reorganisation of the direct lender’s business

New kids on the block dominate awards

Global b-wic round-up: Short-dated CLO paper hits the market
Last week brought over $800 million of b-wics listed in the US CLO secondary market for the first time this month, with around 10% being paper that had a reinvestment period that ended in 2019.

Spire wins Creditflux Manager of the Year award
Spire Partners was the big winner at Creditflux's Manager Awards last night as the London-based manager scooped the award for the manager of the year. On top of this, the firm picked up awards for Best European CLO Manager and Best European CLO for Aurium CLO II

Pennsylvania pension commits $150 million to European credit funds
Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System approved $975 million of investments at its 24 April meeting

Global CLO round-up: 15 months to one month - managers set their own pace
Three new US CLOs priced this week courtesy of; Seix Advisors, via BNP Paribas; Kayne Anderson, via Goldman Sachs; and Steele Creek, via RBC. In Europe, Oaktree Capital Management paired with Barclays to price Arbour CLO VI.

Ares to expand network with hubs in Amsterdam and Madrid
Ares Management is expanding across continental Europe by opening offices in Amsterdam and Madrid. These are expected to be running in the first half of 2019

Ares and GSO carry unitranches over €1 billion mark
Flush with cash, European direct lending managers have finally passed the milestone one billion unitranche mark this quarter

Unlevered direct lending funds bring in first-time investors
Unlevered direct lending funds are particularly appealing to first-time investors and one of the biggest managers in the business has taken note of this

We have a completion rate of around 4% of transactions we see
Ares' Mike Dennis takes our credit quiz

Ares prices European CLO as senior triple As edge wider by 0.5bp
Ares Management returned to the European primary market on Friday to price a new issue CLO via Citi

Ares markets mezzanine tranches as it nears European CLO pricing
Ares management has chosen Citi as the sole arranger for its new European CLO, Ares European CLO XI.

Ares grows credit 34% with direct lending boost, but high yield takes rough ride in Q4
Ares Management Corporation reported strong returns for its European direct lending strategies in the fourth quarter of 2018. But the firm's overall revenues slumped and its US loan funds and high yield strategies were hit by the volatile credit market 

Global CLO round-up: there's something for everyone as CLOs put on a good spread
This week, equity investors have something to be thankful for with triple A CLO spreads showing signs of tightening

Ares ups its target for US senior direct lending growth to $4.7 billion
Following $5 billion of inflows into global direct lending in the third quarter, Ares has upped the target for its US direct lending strategy 

Credit drives strong returns for five of the largest asset managers in the business
Carlyle is close to hitting its ambitious fundraising target; direct lending has been kind to Ares; and Och-Ziff has decided to shed its US CLO risk retention stakes after exiting its financing agreements

Ares lays down a marker with 85bp CLO triple A print as European spreads widen
After pricing a benchmark CLO at the start of the year, Ares Management is back in the primary market after pricing Ares European CLO X today