Banks predict steady year ahead
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

Setting standards for emissions data
Macroeconomic trends may have pushed the topic of ESG reporting down the news agenda this year, but this is changing with a raft of new regulations in countries around the world

Fund performance
Good month for CLO funds sees six in top 10 as Axiom sets pace

What matters is what you do with it
CLO managers yearn for flexibility so they can take advantage when credit sells off. But it isn’t enough on its own: triple C-flex CLOs saw portfolios erode this year, while CBOs outperformed

We’re drifting apart
Everyone’s issuing US CLOs these days and it is tempting to believe the crowd of managers is blending into one. However, overall portfolio overlap has dropped to 37.7% across 2021 CLOs  

Refi deluge casts shadow on b-wics

An alternative way of looking at CLO overlap
Analysing CLO collateral to look for overlap is critical for any CLO investor, but it is normally done either within a portfolio of CLOs or by bilaterally comparing two managers. In one of its latest research pieces, Moody’s Analytics has taken a different approach

Lighten up, these are due an upgrade
CLO triple C buckets were overflowing last year, but the average exposure is now 7.3%. That is still close to trigger levels, but CLO managers are relaxed, as further loan upgrades are on the horizon

Elements work against CLO managers in Q3
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

Relative value plays swell secondary
The secondary CLO market has been revived this year as volumes shatter 2019 totals. Investors are finding that secondary values outweighs that in primary, with the added bonus of full portfolio disclosure

Managers weigh up matters of principal
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

Investors gain upper hand in doc negotiations

Tastes change in secondary trading
Our analysis of the secondary market shows that, since 2013, appetite for CLOs run by tier one managers persists through market dips and rallies.

Consumer lending: questions pile up for debt collectors
Cabot’s failed IPO has hit bonds across the debt collection sector – and made investors much more cautious. By Euan Hagger

Chance encounter sets up CIFC sale
Selling a business can be arduous, frustrating and nerve-wracking. An exhaustive process does help – but sometimes it takes a bit of luck for a deal to go through

Move up the stack to avoid implosion
Pundit warns investors to be concerned about return of their principal – but senior loans may be a safe haven as credit yields are squeezed and high yield becomes crowded

Rebooting the CLO market
Switching off and on again proved a popular tactic for CLO managers last year as refis and resets helped push issuance to $132 billion

How joint ventures juice up BDCs
As CLO equity investments fall out of favour with business development companies, joint-venture loan funds are growing fast

CLO refis take centre stage
The third quarter CLO league tables cover a period in which issuance has been increasing while the total size of the market has fallen

Finding value: spotting risk
US retail, Saudi sovereign and mid-market technology are just some of the sectors that credit specialists across the sell side and buy side commented on last month

A legacy market no longer
CLO calls, step-up refis and a recovery in new issuance have all changed the CLO market in the second quarter of 2016

Equipment rental: debt investors call for safety measures
Resistance is high to equipment renters that continue to splash out on capital spending

Nightmares on credit street
Rising leverage, creeping warfs and weakening covenants. If that isn’t enough to keep credit investors awake, liquidity is a ticking time bomb

Surety bonds: distressed traders’ secret weapons
Hedge funds have a little-known way to get exposure to distressed credit. But, trading isn’t straightforward  

A quarter of living dangerously
After a desperate start to 2016, CLO issuance recovered in March as loan prices rallied – but collateral values are still deteriorating