S&P adds to CLO negative watch list as loan downgrades pick up
Standard & Poor’s has added to the list of tranches in CLOs it has on negative watch as coronavirus concerns mount. This follows the rating agency last week highlighting 22 tranches across 15 US CLOs for having big exposure to downgraded corporate borrowers across impacted industry sectors

Fitch puts European and US CLO notes on negative watch after coronavirus stress test
Fitch Ratings has placed six notes from one European CLO, one US static CLO and one US middle market CLO on negative watch, following coronavirus-related stress tests placed last week 

Listed credit fund sheds CLO triple As
Chenavari's listed credit fund, Chenavari Toro Income Fund Limited, has sold European CLO triple A paper to raise cash to answer margin calls related to CLO warehouse and CLO triple A repo exposures

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US loan index rises for second consecutive day
The credit markets felt some reprieve on Thursday as the S&P/LSTA index rose for the second consecutive day, rising by an unprecedented 3.33%

30% of CLOs will breach their 7.5% triple C buckets, says BofA
The number of CLOs tripping their 7.5% buckets for loans rated triple C is set to soar from 8% to around 30%, according to the latest research from Bank of America

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

Bank looks to unwind $632 million loan TRS
A US bank has looked to liquidate a total return swap vehicle by putting out a loan bwic, according to market sources, with the vehicle sized at $632 million

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Elizabeth Warren demands data on tanking lev loan market
US senator Elizabeth Warren has requested leveraged lending data and detailed information about the risk posed by loans, having aired her concerns about covid-19's impact on this market in a letter to treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin

Investors pull $10.9 billion out of corporate IG ETFs in one week
Outflows from loan and high yield bond exchange traded funds have exacerbated the liquidity pressure facing credit investors, sources say, as market volatility intensifies after economists slashed global forecasts

CLOs pressured by sub-80 loan index as UBS predicts $550 billion of distress
CLOs were squeezed again today as the coronavirus selloff continues to hammer the loan market and UBS predicted many leveraged loans will become distressed

CLOs process Internap bankruptcy as they hold $212 million
CLOs hold $212 million of the debt of Internap Technologies, which filed for Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on on Tuesday

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

CVC listed credit fund 'pre-emptively' sheds covid-19 related positions
CVC Credit has taken a conservative approach to addressing covid-19 volatility in its listed opportunistic credit fund, with the fund divesting several credit positions to manage risk 

Barings BDC eyes syndicated loan market opportunities
Three weeks ago, during its 2019 earnings report, Barings BDC said the company’ had rotated out of broadly syndicated loans to ramp up its middle market exposure. But with widespread market upheaval since then, most opportunities to build value for investors will come from the broadly syndicated market

CLO new issues shut down as market digests fiscal stimulus measures
The CLO and loan pipelines have dried up as managers and investors shift their focus to trading, according to market sources

Nordea's former head of sustainable loans resurfaces at Handelsbanken
The former head of sustainable loans at Nordea will join Handelsbanken debt capital markets team in May

Alcentra prepares listed credit fund
BNY Mellon Investment Advisor has teamed up with affiliate Alcentra to launch a listed fund that can invest across a range of credit strategies

Loan index drops below 90 for first time since February 2016
The S&P/LSTA leveraged loan index dropped below 90 today as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the world's financial markets

Beneath the triple C: mighty CLO buckets from Akorns grow
Rating agencies went on a downgrading spree in February, with Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s cutting 20 corporate names to triple C or below – affecting $2.78 billion of paper in US CLOs and €316.6 million in European CLOs. 

PRI unveils ESG workstream for CLOs, loans and ABS
Principles for Responsible Investment has established a workstream on environmental social and governance standards in structured products

Loan market slump feeds into CLO pricing
The loan market opened this week 2-4 percentage points lower than last week, pushing it toward 90—a threshold it has not crossed since February 2016. CLOs have reacted to this rapid drop

Ares hires head of ESG from Partners Group
Ares Management Corporation has appointed a head for its environmental, social and governance (ESG) practice, effective from April