Commercial lending

Prices for major term loans issued by operators such as Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide and Caesars Entertainment have fallen in recent weeks as investors grow worried about the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on global tourist and business travel.

Banks may be protected from a direct hit, but they have invested in vehicles that include such loans, potentially exposing them to defaults.

The falling rates continue a three-year trend of improving performance across numerous commercial mortgage sectors including multifamily, office and retail.

Exchange traded funds tracking leveraged-loan performance saw sharp declines on Monday, following a Friday leveraged loan index decline that was the steepest in nearly a decade.

If JPMorgan, Credit Suisse and Macquarie Group aren’t able to find enough takers of bonds and loans funding El Dorado Resorts' acquisition of Caesar's Entertainment, they may have little choice but to offer the debt at a steep discount.

Compliance, risk management and staffing will likely come under added scrutiny as regulators lay out a framework for future fintech-bank mergers.

Asset manager PGIM Inc. is looking to at least triple its investments in the growing direct lending market where it wants to compete with banks to fund mid-size companies outside of the buyout space.

The loans were aggregated by JUPS, the deal’s sponsor and an affiliate of Jefferies and Jefferies Asset Funding.

The acquisition of the Texas-based lender will help Regions expand its offerings to small businesses while adding about $2 billion of loans to the bank's balance sheet.

Black Knight introduced a model to gauge prepayment speeds and credit risk for investors that purchase commercial mortgage-backed securities.