Leveraged loans

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Kovensky, whose departure from the posts is effective April 1, will stay on as a board member at the $17 billion credit management division of Onex Corp. Co-CEO Jason New will become head of credit as part of the transition, while Peter Zaltz will become chief investment officer.