CDOs

A wave of corporate loan refinancings is putting collateralized loan obligations afoul of a covenant designed to safeguard their own investors.

HPS Investment Partners is adding a new name to one of its legacy Highbridge CLOs, as well as piling on extensive changes to note structure, deal terms and restrictions on some higher-risk assets.

Just $7.6 billion of deals were refinanced or reset in September, bringing the total for the third quarter to $27.2 billion, far short of the pace of the first half, when approximately $138 billion was reworked.

Unlike the sponsor's previous transaction, which recycled collateral issued pre-crisis, this one includes newly issued securities intended to help small banks and insurance companies raise capital.

RREEF America, the real estate investment unit of Deutsche Asset Management, is securitizing an unusual mix of speculative-grade project finance and corporate in a debut $431.3 million collateralized debt obligation.

The liquidation of Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare puts increasing pressure on other banks in the Eurozone to reduce their holdings of bad loans, according to Fitch Ratings; it remains to be seen whether securitization will play a significant role.

CLO managers who accept lower interest payments on loans risk running afoul of deal covenants; but if they take their money back, there are few attractive options for putting it back to work

KKR is undertaking a rare refinancing of a 2014-vintage collateralized loan obligation that does take advantage of a one-time exemption from risk retention requirements.

The Massachussetts Educational Financing Authority is issuing $162.23 million of private student loan revenue bonds; Fannie Mae obtains more front-end credit risk transfer; Canadian Tire Bank taps credit card market.

At an industry conference Thursday, three former banking and capital markets regulators – including former U.S. comptroller Eugene Ludwig – joined in the chorus of industry voices doubting that any near-term relief from Dodd-Frank rules is on the table.

A recent challenge to the legality of leverage lending guidance could have broad implications for issuers, underwriters and investors in corporate loans. But the end result could be added complexity, rather than a wholesale easing of restrictions

Much of the discussion at an industry conference in New York Wednesday was devoted to the potential complications that could result from rolling back rules enacted by the previous administration under Dodd-Frank.

A panel of retail industry analysts explored how several department store and specialty retailers face hard times in an environment in which sales declines, high leverage and competition from online retailers are pressuring many brick-and-mortar chains' ability to service their speculative-grade debt obligations.

CLOs are increasingly negotiating with investors for longer reinvestment periods. S&P Global takes a less favorable view of the practice than the other two major rating agencies, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service.

The ability of federal agencies to interpret the Volcker Rule and other provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act could be a positive for advocates of deregulation.

Apollo's MidCap Financial Services Capital Management is marketing its second mid-market CLO of the year in the $1.05 billion Woodmont 2017-2 Trust transaction. Also, 3i is refinancing a 2014 Jamestown CLO deal, and the Vermont Student Assistance Corp. issues is latest series of notes backed by private student loan originations.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika is floating the possibility of reinterpreting the Volcker Rule, which compelled collateralized loan obligations to divest high yield bonds, or risk losing their biggest customers - U.S. banks.

Palmer Square refinances 2013 CLO, cutting spread on AAA-rated tranche to below 100 basis points; Dryden refinances 2014 European CLO: Five Guys cooking up $440M Whole Business securitization.

A combination of attractive financing and more plentiful supply of collateral CLO issuance to $10.2 billion in April. the highest level in nearly two years.

Risk retention rules created some big hurdles to creating new collateralized loan obligations. Yet they also opened up new avenues for investing in the market, as many managers serving as fee-for-service agents were compelled to raise the capital necessary to keep “skin in the game.”