Structured credit dragged very wide — but CLOs stand to gain
Senior tranches of securitisations widened 220% in less than a month as the coronavirus pandemic has meant an increase in systemic risk — a sharp turnaround from the past few months when idiosyncratic risks were being cited as the main concern for structured credit investors.

SME CLO features PDL mechanism
Details of the groundbreaking Alhambra SME Funding 2019-1 — the first 2.0 CLO backed by loans to small and midsized enterprises — were revealed at the Direct Lending Forum jointly hosted by Creditflux and Debtwire last month.

They said it: "Start writing the story about banks making margin calls to buyers of CLOs using repo!"
A reader comments on our 25 March report “US fund managers put on leveraged CLO triple A trade with a view to 13% returns”, pointing out that banks were pulling loan TRS lines, but still had the appetite to support leveraged CLO trades.

Asset managers pull all liquidity levers to satisfy borrowers
A paramount concern for many investors in direct lending funds is whether asset managers have enough liquidity to meet borrower requests for funding

Empty rooms test CRE CLOs linked to lodging
After a banner year for CRE CLOs, the asset class seems uniquely exposed to the coronavirus — particularly for loan collateral tied to lodging, according to research from Kroll Bond Rating Agency.

‘Hoard credit’ says PM as markets swing
As Creditflux went to press, the covid-19 death toll in Italy surged by 700 after two days of slowing, and the US congress agreed a $2 trillion stimulus package.

The opportunities to build par and spread within a CLO haven’t been this plentiful since 2009
Last year’s CLOs could become the benchmark for manager performance

Investors need to ask: can my asset manager survive the crisis?

Miscast as the villains of the 2008 crisis, CDS may prove to be the heroes of 2020
Credit default swaps provide investors with valuable signals on the depth of the coronavirus crisis

CLO investors should be able to see live secondary trading levels
Olga Chernova of Sancus Capital takes our credit quiz

We’ve got time to work this out
You might think direct lenders are very exposed to economic downturns. But at the Creditflux-Debtwire event last month, managers said they felt they had a few months to rectify problems

We’ve survived before, we can do so again

Credit funds at a glance

A round-up of fundraising and people moves in credit

CLOs at a glance: CLO primary market grinds to a halt
A round-up of CLO performance

Ucits at a glance: Long-short approach lifts Pictet to the top

Fund perfomance: Slowdown for some as pandemic takes hold

Fair Oaks suspends dividends from listed CLO fund citing covid-19 uncertainty
Fair Oaks Capital has suspended dividends on its listed CLO fund “in light of the ongoing uncertainty in economies and markets caused by covid-19 pandemic”, according to an update to investors in the $315 million fund

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

BDCs face asset coverage pressure as Fitch puts two on negative watch
Fitch Ratings has placed ratings on the debt of two business development companies, BlackRock Capital Investment Corporation (BB+) and New Mountain Finance Corporation (BBB-), on negative watch

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

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

S&P puts US CLOs on negative watch including seven failing triple C test
Standard and Poor’s put focus on the recent volatility by placing tranches in 15 US CLOs on a negative watch for having large exposures to energy related sectors such as oil and gas, consumable fuels and commodities. In total, 25 tranches have been affected by this.