Commercial lending

Loanpal, a provider of residential-solar loans in the U.S., is planning an initial public offering this year that could value the company at more than $10 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Bankruptcy courts saw a greater-than-average number of filings in the first quarter, though a year-on-year decline highlights the impact of cheap cash flowing to troubled borrowers.

For investment firms that profit by buying the debt of troubled companies, it looked like the opportunity of a lifetime: a $1 trillion pile of distressed bonds and loans in the Americas alone as the pandemic sent markets into meltdown last March.

The leveraged loan market has long been the favored financing source for private equity firms looking to juice returns on corporate takeovers and to reward themselves with payouts before selling their acquisitions.

Kovensky, whose departure from the posts is effective April 1, will stay on as a board member at the $17 billion credit management division of Onex Corp. Co-CEO Jason New will become head of credit as part of the transition, while Peter Zaltz will become chief investment officer.

Yellen announced she has revived a hedge fund working group so agencies can “share data, identify risks and work to strengthen our financial system."

The Spanish bank is broadening its lending to speculative-rated borrowers from its traditional focus on high-grade debt, Noya said in an interview. It’s been building a team to get more high-yield mandates in Europe and the U.S.

Don Mullen, founder and chief executive officer of Pretium Partners, says that corporate debt could underperform mortgages this year, with fewer defaults likely for real estate loans and higher recoveries for mortgage-backed instruments.

U.S. companies including Hilton and Avis are so anxious to lock in low borrowing costs now, before inflation fears push yields even higher or close the market altogether, that they’re paying millions of dollars in penalties to refinance debt early.

A PIMCO-sponsored HELOC securitzation, as well as a mortgage-insurance linked transaction, are the latest examples of issuers getting a head start on switching to an expected replacement benchmark for Libor.

The $1.18 billion deal is also the first to include Tesla’s mid-range Model Y vehicle (with an MSRP of $54, 119) that makes up 36% of the securitized value of the TALT 2021-A pool, according to a presale report from Moody’s Investors Service.

UMB Financial’s success in aviation financing has boosted fee income, and the Missouri company has opened an office in Dublin — a hub for airplane sales and leases that could get busier as the airline industry restructures.

Deals, trends and research in structured finance and asset-backed securities for the week of March 12-18

The strong showing has prompted managers to bring new deals at favorable terms and refinance and reset existing bonds at cheaper costs, leading market observers to predict a record year for refinancings.

CLO new-issue month-to-date volume is at $8.9 billion, keeping pace with a record $15.8 billion total from February

Firms targeted include Brigade Capital Management, HPS Investment Partners, Symphony Asset Management and Bardin Hill Investment Partners, which all have a CLO business that repackages leveraged loans into bonds of differing risks, sources said.

Worried initially that marketplace lenders might falter at the first stage of a crisis, the sector has weathered the COVID-19 storm and now projects to match 2019's record securitization deal volume.

Almost 54% of the leases issued through Santander Consumer's Chrysler Capital unit are for terms beyond 36 months, the highest-ever share of extended-term contracts.

Firms targeted include Brigade Capital Management, HPS Investment Partners and Symphony Asset Management, according to sources.

The Athene acquisition completes a process that Rowan – who succeeds Black as CEO no later than July – started in 2009, when he created the annuity business so that it would send vast sums of cash to Apollo for investments