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How many CLOs will be reset?
2 months ago
Tightening liability spreads aren’t just driving record new CLO issuance this year — they’re also triggering a wave of resets and refinancings in the US, especially for broadly syndicated CLOs -
Banks predict steady year ahead
4 months ago
It’s the season for predictions and the CLO market is no exception, with all the banks having their say. We’ve rounded up their forecasts for new issuance and resets in the US and Europe -
European CLOs win out against US deals
7 months ago
Last month, our analysis explored the performance of US CLOs that were previously reset. We found that they delivered higher distributions than deals which weren’t reset, with the exception of the 2017 and 2018 vintages (Creditflux September 2023 — Do resets help CLOs perform better?). This article expands that analysis to the European market, and compares the performance of US BSL and EU CLO equity tranches. -
Question your assumptions
10 months ago
Valuing CLO paper is complicated, and loan prepayments are one of the trickiest parts. When pricing a new issue CLO, the market generally assumes that 15-20% of loans will prepay their principal annually. This prepayment rate is important because it essentially determines the pace at which a CLO’s rated debt is paid off after the reinvestment period, when the CLO pays down its own principal. -
Not every CLO can be a winner
The CLO industry has undeniably performed well enough to justify the plaudits it receives. But there will always be some unloved CLO tranches that slip into triple C territory -
We can cope with downgrades again
Having overcome one loan downgrade wave in 2020, the CLO market is now facing another. But this time CLOs are defensively positioned, and managers have a chance to adjust portfolios1 year ago -
Arb work pays off
2 years ago
With day-one arbitrage alone delivering projected CLO cash-on-cash returns of 20-25%, 2021 may have been the best year ever for equity investors — at least until CLO spreads began to widen -
I’ll see your 2020 and raise you 2021
2 years ago
Discounted loans, Libor floors and bond flexibility helped make 2021 an even better year for CLO returns than 2020, as US CLOs distributed 15.54% and European CLOs paid 13.93% annualised -
These CLO docs could be better
2 years ago
It seems there’s not much to worry about if you’re in the CLO market. In Creditflux’s CLO Census, voters said docs should follow a template as Jefferies, AGL and Hayfin emerge as rising stars -
Woah, we’re halfway there
3 years ago
Judging by the 2020 vintage, European CLO overlap is 50%. But varied approaches to holding bonds and the many loans managers turn down mean there are ways for issuers to outperform -
Waiting for afters
3 years ago
Day one arb remains important, but last year there were opportunities aplenty in the secondary market, which put the onus on printing CLOs and waiting for the day after non-call periods expired -
At least 2020 wasn’t dreadful for CLOs
3 years ago
Last year’s downturn was another in which CLOs survived and in many cases thrived as active management and Libor floors helped managers deliver 13%-plus returns to equity -
Chin up – it’s been a pretty good effort
3 years ago
CLO managers did well to survive the covid-19 crash in loan valuations — but they failed to fully capitalise on the ensuing volatility, say participants in the Creditflux CLO Census 2020 -
Elements work against CLO managers in Q3
3 years ago
CLO equity distributions fell in Q3 largely due to factors, such as Libor mismatches, that CLO managers can’t control. But these headwinds could turn in favour of managers in the near future -
It’s been a while — how’s tricks?
The primary CLO market has been open since April, but 41 managers have not managed to price a US CLO in over a year and a lack of access to equity capital means they may struggle to return3 years ago -
Managers weigh up matters of principal
3 years ago
CLO managers that were able to avoid OC traps made double-digit equity distributions in Q2, despite the headwinds. But these firms tended not to be among those that built the most par -
Europe’s newcomers find ways to stand out
3 years ago
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 -
Credit pickers need luck to avoid OC trap
4 years ago
We know what you’re thinking: is my CLO failing its OC test? The truth is, in all this volatility, it can be hard to keep track, unless your deal has high quality liquid loans
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Moving on from the late 2018 hangover
5 years ago
It might be too early to call a full recovery, but it’s fair to say that the US loan market is back on track with $48 billion of institutional issuance in 2019 — 88% of which is made up of new issues -
Loans recover slightly after late-2018 havoc
5 years ago
Secondary loan prices have ticked higher this year, although they are still some way off the levels reached before the fourth quarter slump. However, M&As are starting to fill the new issue pipeline
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Keep calm and buy corporate loans
5 years ago
Calm heads prevailed in 2018. Markets were volatile and risk retention was supposed to cause problems, but there was no need to panic and volumes went on to break records set in 2014 -
Retail fund pain is a CLO manager’s gain
5 years ago
Retail funds dumped loans in record volumes late in 2018, creating ideal conditions for CLOs to capitalise with performing credits available in the mid-90s for the first time in years -
Buy and hold isn’t only option for CLO equity
5 years ago
New US CLO equity is being more regularly flipped into b-wics. Figures suggest that equity pieces of 2017 and 2018 US deals made up 22% of the b-wic market over the past four quarters -
Widening whisks market back to 2017
5 years ago
Right now, CLO volumes are healthy and the list of active managers is steadily growing. But with CLO liability spreads reverting to where they were a year ago, some issuers are a little nervous. -
New issues keep managers busy in summer season
5 years ago
New issue loans made up 74.1% of volumes in August, supporting US CLO managers looking to ramp up. Spreads tightened to 368bp, but managers can’t complain — it’s much better than in Q1
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