CDOs

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.”