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.

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 

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 

Time on side of direct lenders as private loans give relief against volatility
Some credit fund managers have become myopic in an effort to absorb the impact of the market sell-off, rate changes, shortage of liquidity and the overarching consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Mid-sized companies might be considered more vulnerable in such circumstances, but direct lenders are spared from any mark to market volatility

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

Direct lenders face ebitda-add back language challenges as borrowers seek flexibility

Solus shutters flagship distressed fund, WSJ reports
Solus Alternative Asset Management has shuttered its flagship distressed debt fund, Sola, as the firm faces big redemption requests and coronavirus-related liquidity issues

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. 

Dutch VAT ruling to reduce impacted CLO equity returns by 1 to 2%, says BofA
The Dutch tax authority’s decision to charge a 21% VAT on CLO collateral management fees will have a ‘substantial’ impact on equity, with returns likely to be 1 to 1.2% lower going forward, according to a research paper published by Bank of America

US CLO exposure to oil and gas is 2.6%, finds Barclays
Oil and gas exposure in CLOs is fairly limited, according to Barclays research, as crude oil prices drop to $33 per barrel, down from $41 on Friday

Bluestem bankruptcy hits $106 million of CLOs
CLOs hold $105.7 million of the debt of US retailer Bluestem which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, according to the latest trustee reports from CLO-i. 

European mid market CLO suffers blip as borrower misses interest payment
Alhambra SME Funding 2019-1 – the first middle market European CLO since the financial crisis – has suffered a setback with one of its portfolio companies missing an interest payment last month

Making arb work of it

Credit managers hunker down as idiosyncratic risks persist
A slew of earnings reports from credit managers and business development companies shows that deal-making and performance are robust, but great importance is being placed on credit selection.

Distressed exchanges offer pathways to recapture value that others are trying to take from CLOs
Volcker rule amendments could protect CLOs from losing out to distressed funds in a restructuring

Dispersion tests hedge fund managers