CLOs

The London interbank offered rate has its faults, but at least it compensates for counterparty risk; not so the benchmark being touted as a replacement.

A federal appeals court overturned part of the 2010 law’s risk retention rule earlier this year. The legal battle highlights mistakes to be avoided during the next reform fight.

The average AAA note coupon of 103 basis points above Libor widened from 98.4 in March, which had been the tightest CLO spread level in approximately five years.

“We’re comforted by the fact our position in the market is so strong, and our ability to gain [loan] allocation is quite important," co-CEO Kewsong Lee says.

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP (formerly Hunton & Williams and Andrews Kurth Kenyon) has named Robert A. Davis Jr. as special counsel in its tax and ERISA practice.

After the second-busiest quarter for primary European CLO issuance to start 2018, a two-week April lull in the market was ended with deal pricings by Intermediate Capital and Investcorp.

Jay Huang, a longtime Citigroup veteran who joined in January, is developing a high-tech trading-desk operation to enhance the company's portfolio of CLO investments.

The total volume of CLO refinancings for the month to date has reachd $11.3 billion, as managers continue to take advantage of the repeal of skin-in-the-game rules for this asset class.

With no more concerns about triggering risk retention on its large pile of older deals, Blackstone is dusting off CLO portfolios that have long been eligible for a refi makeover.

The LSTA has declared the era of risk retention for open-market CLOs is over, pending an unlikely U.S. Supreme Court intervention. "We believe we can exhale," the trade group said in a statement.