Investments

Outstanding middle-market U.S. collateralized loan obligations in the first quarter had a significantly reduced concentration of near-default loans being held in portfolios compared to year-end 2020

The greenhouse gas emissions associated with financial institutions’ investing, lending and underwriting activities are more than 700 times higher, on average, than their direct emissions, a report concludes.

In his annual letter to CEOs in January, he stressed the need for companies to respond to racial injustice, economic inequality and environmental degradation -- all issues traditionally left to government.

Both agencies cited the increasingly sunny economic outlook driven by the reach of COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

Demand is booming this year for securitized debt, as sales have not only recovered following last year’s Covid-induced dip, but are even eclipsing the pace of previous strong years.

Strong growth, continued low-cost borrowing and an oil rally are all contributing to a friendly backdrop for high-yield issuance.

Managers expect to be holding portfolios of loans priced to potentially different benchmarks, which could present a major challenge in trading assets and re-calculating note coupons currently tied to the outgoing reference rate.

STWD 2021-FL2 is pricing a $1.27 billion managed commercial real estate commercial loan obligation that allows the issuer to reinvest principal proceeds.

Deals, trends and research in structured finance and asset-backed securities for the week of April 9-16

Oaktree Re VI 2021-1 will market $531 million in CRT notes that will provide NMI with partial reinsurance on a $45B pool of GSE-eligible loans.

Fewer obligors with troubled loans improved default exposure for managers of broadly syndicated CLOs, and provided deeper cushions for overcollateralization tests.

United follows in the footsteps of recent deals by Michaels Cos. and Triton Water Holdings Inc. that favored loans over bonds.

The new venue, which is being tested by both banks, will ultimately be a central place for trading desks to see data for structured credit and other underlying collateral markets, the companies said in a statement Monday. They’re planning to launch within a year and hope the effort will lead to more participation in the market.

CoreLogic, known in the real estate industry for its home-price indexes, plans to sell a $4 billion offering to help finance its buyout by Stone Point Capital and Insight Capital.

Many of the biggest whales in collateralized loan obligations are returning to the $900 billion market after spending much of last year on the sidelines, a shift that could make one of Wall Street’s biggest credit machines run even hotter.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council has struggled to find its footing since its creation in Dodd-Frank. The Treasury secretary has signaled a more aggressive role for the panel, including reviving its authority to target nonbank behemoths.

Loanpal, a provider of residential-solar loans in the U.S., is planning an initial public offering this year that could value the company at more than $10 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Bankruptcy courts saw a greater-than-average number of filings in the first quarter, though a year-on-year decline highlights the impact of cheap cash flowing to troubled borrowers.

For investment firms that profit by buying the debt of troubled companies, it looked like the opportunity of a lifetime: a $1 trillion pile of distressed bonds and loans in the Americas alone as the pandemic sent markets into meltdown last March.

The leveraged loan market has long been the favored financing source for private equity firms looking to juice returns on corporate takeovers and to reward themselves with payouts before selling their acquisitions.