Munis

An indefinite closure of New York retail businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic added credit pressure on revenue bonds issued for the state’s largest mall.

The agency is scrutinizing recent deals involving credit-card receivables from private specialty finance companies that issue general-purpose and private-label retail cards to a near-prime/non-prime customer base.

About $474M in bonds backed by aircraft leases managed by GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) has been downgraded, tied to the increasingly poor financial health of several foreign airlines from the COVID-19 shutdown in global air traffic.

Hertz and Avis will likely each have to seek to relief from lenders – including asset-backed securities investors that make up the bulk of funding for both companies’ fleets, Moody’s stated in research reports.

Moody’s Investors Service has placed hundreds of non-senior U.S. CLO tranches under review for downgrade, affecting 358 broadly syndicated loan-backed portfolios as Moody’s measures the ongoing economic shocks of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Fed's actions are designed to ensure the flow of credit to midsize businesses and state and local governments hit hard by the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Fitch Ratings has placed subordinate notes on two U.S. collateralized loan obligations on notice for potential downgrades, contemplating a ratings action that has not previously occurred for a post-crisis CLO.

Dramatic Fed intervention may steady some markets, but unless something changes — and, judging by the last two weeks, it very well could — the central bank won’t be there to save fallen angels. Which brave investors will step up?

The credit watch involves single-borrower securitizations of commercial mortgages for high-priced resorts in Florida and Hawaii.

While collapsing market prices do not present immediate worries for CLO managers, the prospect of future downgrades and defaults becomes more problematic.

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.

The city is folding together separate syndicate and advisor teams on $1.2 billion of general obligation and Sales Tax Securitization Corp. refunding deals.

Rating criteria changes and a ruling in the Puerto Rico III case have undermined some investors' and analysts' confidence in revenue pledges.

The 240 note classes under review from 24 issuers include several already holding high-risk triple-C ratings.

RBC Capital Markets hired Paul Sheldon, founder of the advisory firm S L Capital Strategies, as a managing director in the municipal finance student loan group.

Chicago officials say the city will complete its $3 billion securitization program with a $600 million deal as soon as January.

Goldman Sachs was set to price $898.1 million of the sales tax bonds Wednesday, but the sale was delayed until next week at the earliest.

The Railsplitter Tobacco Settlement Authority will price a $679 million current and advance refunding of tobacco bonds.