CLOs

Credit research analysts cite a "significant" drop in defaults since the 2Q and improving macroeconomic indicators.

Spreads and investor demand make conditions ripe for a surge in CLO deals before the election, but a strain on loan supply may complicate the picture.

Brigade Capital Management, Blackstone Group Inc., CIFC Asset Management and Bardin Hill Investment Partners are among the firms looking to change the terms of the CLOs they oversee to put them on better footing when companies they’ve lent to can’t meet their obligations. Collateral managers are often handcuffed in distressed situations due to strict checks on the risks they can take.

The Charlotte, N.C., company recently closed on a sale of its Cohen Financial platform to SitusAMC.

“The Fed has made it clear that they don’t want a liquidity problem in the Treasury market or the higher-grade corporate market,” Fuss said. “They cannot, unfortunately, underwrite lending in the private markets.”

Private equity firms are hitting the U.S. leveraged loan market at the fastest pace in years to fund shareholder payouts with about $8.6 billion of dividend recapitalization deals launched this month.

Deals, trends and research in structured finance and asset-backed securities for the week of Sept. 11-17

After a boom in corporate distress when economies shut down to deal with the pandemic, 2020 had been expected to be the biggest bankruptcy year ever. The pace of bankruptcies was widely expected to pick up after last month, which was slower than May-July, but still the worst August on record.

Deals, trends and research in structured finance and asset-backed securities for the week of Sept. 4-10

KKR & Co. is looking to grow its asset-based private lending business to capitalize on a retreat by banks and more traditional market participants in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has led to mis-priced risk.

The debut fund chose an unmistakable ticker (AAA) to market the relative safety of the CLO that is often unfairly attributed with the risks of the pre-crisis CDO.

A three-month drought in CRE CLO issuance came to an end this week with new deals from Exantas and A10 Capital.

Deals, trends and research in structured finance and asset-backed securities for the week of Aug. 28-Sept.3

This year has already seen a glut of corporate failures: there were 177 U.S. bankruptcy filings year-to-date by companies with over $50 million in liabilities, according to data compiled by Bloomberg

There’s been a flurry of interest in so-called fallen angels recently as investors seek alternatives to the ultra-low yields on high-grade debt.

The transaction is the first in two years for MidCap, which provides startup and expansion financing for biosciences/healthcare and technology firms backed by VC and private equity.

The industry’s turmoil, including 'strategic options' being pursued by corporate debt obligors like Transocean and Seadrill, has sparked the biggest wave of restructurings since 2017, when the effects of the last oil price downturn reverberated through the industry.

Investors should consider alternatives such as private credit as they search for positive yield in a world of low or negative interest rates, according to asset manager Nuveen LLC.

As the tally of corporate defaults climbs, the potential for collateralized loan obligation ETFs may pose a risk for retail investors, according to GTS Mischler Principal Reggie Browne.

There is hope among issuers that the structural changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic can bolster CLO resiliency, thereby enabling market participants to better weather the next economic storm.