Investments

While Carlyle has been judicious with new issuance, it had a busier second quarter in refinancing older deals; several more will be ripe for refinancing in the third quarter.

Mindful Wealth, an investment firm based in Singapore, is raising money to put to work in some of the riskier tranches of U.S. collateralized loan obligations, those rated BBB and B.

Freddie Mac produced modest second-quarter results, reflecting a stabilizing business that CEO Donald Layton compared to a utility company.

Recent documentation tweaks that afford "excessive amounts of flexibility" to CLO managers can introduce "material, and even unquantifiable, risks" into transactions, according to the rating agency.

The Chicago-based corporate small-business lender and CLO management firm also reduced the cost in subordinate notes as it chose to maintain the existing reinvestment and maturity periods limiting the deal's shelf life.

Nonbank mortgage-backed securities servicers increase their exposure to agency loans as the housing market distances itself from last decade's crash, according to Fitch Ratings.

The triple-A rated senior tranche of Ares European CLO X has a coupon of 85 basis points above Euribor, an indication that a four-month widening trend in Europe CLO spreads continues; the deal is expected to close in September.

The transaction, Shelter Growth CRE 2018-FL1, is backed by 22 properties with a total balance of $415.1 million; it is static, meaning the only new loans to be added to the trust will be "companion” interest in loans secured by existing assets.

The New York State Supreme Court has ruled that Sound Point is within its rights to enforce a 90-day noncompete agreement with a manager who joined GoldenTree two weeks after his resignation.

Oaktown Re II is National Mortgage Insurance's first rated transaction, according to Morningstar; it reinsures $5.47 billion of policies on mortgages with a total balance of $30.12 billion.

That's a departure from the firm's existing fund, which acquires controlling stakes in CLOs through "equity" holdings; the new fund will be advised by the same principals, Tom Majewski, Daniel W. Ko and Daniel M. Spinner.

Tikehau CLO IV B.V. will control €400 million (UA$466.5 million) in mostly European leveraged loans and high-yield bonds (with an allowance for up to 25% of non-euro-denominated assets), according to Fitch Ratings.

Unusually for a debut transaction, the $329.7 million M360 2018-CRE1 will be actively managed: For the first 12 months after the closing date, funds from repaid principal can be used to purchase new loans, subject to eligibility criteria.

When the transaction closes on July 23 it will be renamed Fortress Credit VSL VI; additional collateral, nearly half (48%) of the total, in fact, will come from another CLO, Fortress VI.

The €414.2 million CVC Cordatus Loan Fund XI will issue exchangeable shares for four classes of notes; this allows the fund to hold bonds without putting itself off-limits to U.S. banks.

In the U.S., the 12-month trailing default rate fell to 3.4% in June from 4% in March, while in Europe it declined to 2.2% from 2.8% over the quarter. Globally, defaults stood at 2.9%, down from 3.4% in the first quarter.

A Fannie Mae test to handle the private mortgage insurance process for lenders may raise concerns that it's going outside the scope of its secondary market mission. But the effort reflects its mandate to explore new credit-risk transfer alternatives, a company executive said.

The lack of concrete lobbying victories had become an issue with some members in the group, possibly leading to a splintering of support among members and the board for continuing the executive director's tenure.

Most managers are looking to add three to five years of investable life through CLO resets and refis, but Apollo is sticking with a four-year reinvestment window in a refinancing of its 2016 ALM XVII portfolio.

Annisa CLO was originally issued in August 2016, just before risk retention regulation took effect, but was the firm's first deal to be dually compliant with both U.S. rules (which no longer apply to CLOs) and European rules.