CLOs
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Experience counts
CLO managers surveyed
Manager differentiation remains a key issue in the CLO market, with many investors focusing on individual experience of past crises. A new survey of CLO managers by Fitch provides some reassurance in this regard.
"Whether portfolio managers have experienced a full credit cycle or two, and evaluating workloads amid the added pressures of credit quality deterioration are real .......
News 4 June 2020
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Long road ahead
CLO secondary pricing action premature?
Sentiment in the CLO secondary market is overwhelmingly positive, which is showing up in recent pricing levels. While such sentiment is hopefully not misplaced, it is perhaps somewhat premature.
“Markets are priced to perfection, which is reflected in the rally, particularly at the top of the stack,” says Laila Kollmorgen, md and CLO tranche portfolio manager at PineBridge Investments. “Clearly .......
News Analysis 3 June 2020
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More Euro CLOs on review
Sector developments and company hires
More Euro CLOs on review
Market Moves 3 June 2020
Moody’s has put a further 234 tranches from 77 European BSL CLOs on review for possible downgrade. The securities involved are rated Baa2 to B1 and below. The action brings the total number of European CLOs Moody’s has under negative review to 351, representing around 16% by count, or 6.5% by balance, of its rated .......
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New paradigm?
Trustee discretion required in virtual environment
The coronavirus crisis ushered in a new paradigm for securitisation noteholder communication and documentation processes, as remote working was enforced. This change has demanded flexibility from trustees and agents amid the uncertainty.
Morgan Krone, partner and head of the global corporate trust and agency practice at Allen & Overy, says: “I think trustees and agents have done extremely .......
News Analysis 2 June 2020
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Managers measured
CLO manager pandemic performance quantified
US CLO managers have worked harder than ever before to reduce triple-C exposure and build par in unprecedented circumstances since the start of March. Now, as rating downgrades appear to have plateaued it can be seen that their industry has met with some success, according to a new report from S&P.
“The credit profile of US CLO collateral .......
News 2 June 2020
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Equity opportunities?
Sector developments and company hires
Equity opportunities?
Despite a lack of visibility and liquidity and with cashflows likely to deteriorate further into upcoming July payment dates, there may be some opportunities in the CLO equity space, according to a new research report from JPMorgan.It finds that while NAVs remain negative, there has been some improvement between March lows and late 2019. Equally, cashflow .......
Market Moves 1 June 2020
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Renewables JV inked
Sector developments and company hires
Renewables JV inked
Market Moves 29 May 2020
By way of a joint venture, illimity Bank and VEI Green II have set up a securitisation vehicle for distressed loans with underlying assets that produce electricity from renewable sources. This vehicle will invest up to €100m and operate in both the Italian primary and secondary energy markets. The partnership has commenced activities by carrying out its .......
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Growth phase
European CLOs seeing increasing attention to ESG criteria
The current crisis has initiated further discussion surrounding sustainability. Expectations are that investor demand and policy changes will further integrate ESG considerations into the CLO investment process.
Andrew Lawson, head of capital markets at Permira Debt Managers, says: “Investors continue to pay increasing attention to ESG criteria, particularly following this pandemic. As the investors demand greater focus on ESG principles, .......
News Analysis 28 May 2020
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Pan-European guarantee fund launched
Sector developments and company hires
Pan-European guarantee fund launched
Market Moves 27 May 2020
The EIB board has approved a €25bn Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF) - which will be funded by EU member states pro rata to their shareholding in the bank – as part of its overall response to the Covid-19 crisis. By guaranteeing parts of portfolios, operations under the guarantee fund will free up capital for financial intermediaries .......
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CLO tender offer launched
Sector developments and company hires
CLO tender offer
Market Moves 22 May 2020
The Black Diamond CLO 2015-1 issuer has launched a tender offer to all noteholders of the €176.3m class A1 and the US$67.2m class A2 notes. The purchase price for any bonds tendered under the offer will equal 98.75% of the principal amount outstanding of each note. The offer expires on 2 June, with settlement due on 9 .......
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Back on hold
European MM CLOs stymied by pandemic
The long hoped for pick up in European middle market (MM) CLO issuance was expected to arrive in 2020. However, thanks to the Covid-19 crisis, plans have had to be put on hold as middle-market firms focus on survival.
A new report from DBRS Morningstar suggests that the crisis has set back the progress of MM CLOs in .......
News 22 May 2020
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CLO manager performance assessed
Sector developments and company hires
CLO manager performance assessed
JPMorgan has issued its latest CLO manager quarterly reports for both the US and Europe.72% of US CLOs are now failing their S&P triple-C test and 38% are failing their Moody’s Caa1 test, but there are still three managers passing both tests in all of their transactions: Blackrock, DFG/Vibrant, and Silvermine. Meanwhile, JPMorgan CLO .......
Market Moves 21 May 2020
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TALF subscription date announced
Sector developments and company hires
TALF subscription date announced
Market Moves 20 May 2020
The New York Fed has scheduled the first TALF ABS loan subscription date for 17 June, with the first loan closing date to be 25 June. On fixed days each month, borrowers will be able to request one or more three-year TALF loans. The Fed has published a Master Loan and Security Agreement, which provides further details on the terms .......
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SME CLO, SRT PD adjustments mooted
Sector developments and company hires
SME CLO, SRT PD adjustments mooted
Market Moves 18 May 2020
DBRS Morningstar is considering additional adjustments to reflect expectations of a higher probability of default (PD) for borrowers underlying SME CLO and significant risk transfer deals operating in economic sectors considered to have a ‘mid-high’ or ‘high’ risk of experiencing higher levels of default, due to the coronavirus fallout. For borrowers in the ‘mid-high’ .......
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Equity uptick
CLO equity back in focus in the US secondary market
The US CLO secondary market saw a pick-up in equity activity last week. At the same time, focus has shifted to more recent vintage pieces.
“Cleaner longer-dated equity pieces are gaining support,” says one trader. “We’re also seeing a strong preference for 2019 deals versus the 2018 vintage, which is a reverse of what was going on pre-crisis. .......
News 18 May 2020
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Conflict of interest charge settled
Sector developments and company hires
Conflict of interest charge settled
Market Moves 15 May 2020
The US SEC has charged Morningstar Credit Ratings for violating a conflict of interest rule designed to separate credit ratings and analysis from sales and marketing efforts. Morningstar has agreed to pay US$3.5m to settle charges including that from mid-2015 through September 2016, credit rating analysts in Morningstar’s ABS group engaged in sales and marketing .......
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Tortuous TALF 2.0
Markets question TALF usage
The Federal Reserve this Tuesday (May 12) published more details about the terms of its $100bn new emergency lending facility generally referred to as TALF 2, and while these details were welcomed there are a still a lot of questions in the market about how useful this programme will be.
The first of those questions revolves around relative value. The cost of .......
News Analysis 15 May 2020
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Corporate actions slow down
Sector developments and company hires
Corporate actions slow down
Market Moves 14 May 2020
Negative rating actions on corporate loan issuers continue to accumulate within US BSL CLOs, though the pace is moderating, according to S&P. Since early March, more than 28% of US BSL CLO collateral has been downgraded or placed on credit watch negative by the agency, while triple-C buckets have tripled to 12.3% from about 4% (though .......
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Portfolio resilience
Technology-driven investment gaining traction
Pagaya has expanded to the US West Coast, beefing up its origination group. At the same time, the fintech firm is seeking opportunities in new asset classes and new partnerships.
As part of its expansion, Pagaya has appointed Jason Hass as svp of originations and Mike Cannatella as vp of originations, in Phoenix and Los Angeles respectively. Hass will oversee .......
News 14 May 2020
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TALF CLO rules clarified
Sector developments and company hires
TALF CLO rules clarified
Market Moves 13 May 2020
The US Federal Reserve has clarified its CLO eligibility rules for TALF. It defines its stipulation that all or substantially all of the leveraged loans underlying CLOs must have been “newly issued” as those originated or refinanced on or after 1 January 2019. The Fed also announced additional CLO portfolio requirements: maximum second lien loan concentration .......
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SFSF investments disclosed
Sector developments and company hires
SFSF investments disclosed
Market Moves 12 May 2020
The AOFM has disclosed the recent investments it has made under the Structured Finance Support Fund. In the primary market, the fund was the sole third-party investor in the A2 tranches of FirstMac 2020-1 (it also invested in the A1 through D tranches) and Liberty Series 2020-1 on 27 March and 8 May respectively. It has also .......