Investments

A large percentage of Institutional investors lack confidence in the U.S. government’s ability to contain and eradicate the coronavirus outbreak. But few have plans to pull capital out of specific geographic regions due to the pandemic.

The lowest tier of investment-grade companies are growing vulnerable to downgrades to high-yield status - a designation that could drive up their borrowing costs and set off a wave of selling from investors who aren’t permitted to hold such low-quality debt.

Prices for major term loans issued by operators such as Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide and Caesars Entertainment have fallen in recent weeks as investors grow worried about the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on global tourist and business travel.

Banks may be protected from a direct hit, but they have invested in vehicles that include such loans, potentially exposing them to defaults.

If JPMorgan, Credit Suisse and Macquarie Group aren’t able to find enough takers of bonds and loans funding El Dorado Resorts' acquisition of Caesar's Entertainment, they may have little choice but to offer the debt at a steep discount.

Asset manager PGIM Inc. is looking to at least triple its investments in the growing direct lending market where it wants to compete with banks to fund mid-size companies outside of the buyout space.

Ample access to cash and debt, along with strong diversification strategies built into investment portfolios, will help asset managers and junk-rated corporate borrowers absorb any near-term substantial economic headwinds, according to Fitch Ratings.

A low-rate environment has allowed companies in need of financing to avoid defaults or bankruptcy, making it difficult for credit managers to profit. At the same time, the broader market has provided far better investor returns over the past year, at least before the past week.

ALM 2020 includes a $1.375 billion Class A1 series of notes that have a three-month Libor spread of 108 basis points, well within the average primary AAA spread of 133 basis points over Libor.

An effort by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to examine membership rules for the Federal Home Loan Bank System is reigniting an argument over whether to allow more nonbanks in or impose tougher barriers.

A leading law firm in The Netherlands is mulling an appeal against the Dutch authorities’ decision to charge VAT on the management fees of collateralized loan obligations.

ABS investors who have previously needed only to know an asset was excluded from verboten classes like tobacco, oil and gas or firearms are now pressing for details on how well an investment stacks up in the social and governance factors.

The cancellation by New Residential of a money-losing subservicing agreement should benefit Ocwen's financial results going forward, the company said.

The agency plans to conduct a review of how it regulates the 11 Federal Home Loan banks amid concerns that some companies are inappropriately seeking a back door into the Home Loan Bank System.

The Trump administration proposes cutting personnel and other budgetary items at the bureau, while the agency’s director — who controls the purse strings and was hand-picked by the administration — aims to boost spending and hire more employees.

LibreMax Capital is launching its first ESG-compliant deal through its CLO firm Trimaran Advisors LLC.

Vague criteria and potential "greenwashing" complicate sustainable investments in securitizations, new research suggests.

A proposed change could resurrect bond buckets, but loan industry observers also point to "covered fund" changes shielding loans from a potentially disruptive court decision.

Freddie Mac saw a decline in net profit in 2019 due to decreased interest rate income, lower amortization revenue and risk-reducing investment costs, but its consecutive-quarter results improved.

CBAM Partners co-founder Don Young retells the firm's fast rise into one of the larger CLO managers, and discusses the state of the market.