https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27815&SID=85322&article=UK lender prepares a leveraged finance SRT STORM en Subscription 2026-10-27T00:00:00Z UK lender prepares a leveraged finance SRT Lloyds Banking Group is preparing a potential SRT transaction referencing a portfolio of approximately £1bn, SCI has learned, with due diligence ongoing, according to market sources. The transaction is understood to potentially involve leveraged finance exposures, with a tranche reportedly covering the 0-12% loss range. The asset class and precise structure have not been independently confirmed and the timing of the transaction remains unclear. The potential deal would add to Lloyds’ established use of synthetic securiti https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27815&SID=85319&article=Higher rates turn into headwind for European CLOs STORM en Subscription 2026-10-27T00:00:00Z Higher rates turn into headwind for European CLOs European CLO investors are facing growing credit risks as higher interest rates put pressure on leveraged borrowers, raising refinancing concerns and threatening to reverse the spread tightening that supported the market earlier this year. The Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75% in September, although three members of the Monetary Policy Committee favoured a 25-basis point increase to 4%. Persistent energy price pressures could keep inflation elevated, adding to uncertainty over the interest-rate outlook. While higher rates initially at https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27815&SID=85318&article=SCI In Focus: EU deal leaves questions over insurer eligibility as UFCP faces uncertain outlook STORM en Subscription 2026-10-27T00:00:00Z SCI In Focus: EU deal leaves questions over insurer eligibility as UFCP faces uncertain outlook The EU’s provisional political agreement to reform its securitisation framework opens the door to more favourable treatment of insurer-provided unfunded credit protection (UFCP), but questions remain over how many insurers will qualify and whether the changes will be sufficient to expand the market. The European Council and European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement on 21 October on a package intended to revitalise the EU securitisation market. The deal aims to lower capital requirements for certain lower https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27815&SID=85316&article=NorthWall gears towards first CLO with AI-driven credit analysis STORM en Subscription 2026-10-27T00:00:00Z NorthWall gears towards first CLO with AI-driven credit analysis NorthWall Capital is building its CLO business around selective credit underwriting, continuous portfolio reassessment and measured growth, as the firm scales its portfolio towards its first CLO issuance and prepares to establish a long-term presence in the market. The strategy will draw on NorthWall’s established expertise in sub-investment grade credit and relationships across the private equity and banking communities, according to Andrew Lawson, head of capital markets and CLO business at NorthWall Capital. Speaking t https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27815&SID=85317&article=October CLO mezzanine widening reverses September's gains STORM en Subscription 2026-10-27T00:00:00Z October CLO mezzanine widening reverses September's gains The analysis covers new-issue EU BSL CLOs priced between 19 January 2026 and 23 October 2026 with a reported discount margin (DM), sourced from SCI data. Deals with reinvestment periods of less than 3.9 years are excluded, as are a selected group of deals that were not competitively priced. Deals are grouped by rating and pricing week (Monday to Friday). For each rating from triple-A to single-B, the weekly print represents the tightest eligible DM. Where a deal has multiple tranches within the same rating category, their DMs are weighted by https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27815&SID=85314&article='Horizontal' rated note feeders set to gain ground in Europe STORM en Subscription 2026-10-26T00:00:00Z 'Horizontal' rated note feeders set to gain ground in Europe European insurers’ growing appetite for private credit is likely to spur a different rated note feeder (RNF) model than the one that has taken off in the US, according to industry experts. Speaking at Opal’s recent European Private Credit & ABF Summit, a panellist said that the US rated feeder market, when it started, aimed to give fund managers access to insurance capital by essentially repacking LP interests into rated instruments. The European market, however, faces a different regulatory lands https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27815&SID=85313&article=European CLO equity cash flows hit six-year low as repricing squeezes margins STORM en Subscription 2026-10-26T00:00:00Z European CLO equity cash flows hit six-year low as repricing squeezes margins European CLO equity cash distributions have fallen to their lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic as sustained loan repricing activity and deteriorating collateral valuations squeeze returns, prompting investors to demand higher risk premiums. Median cash-on-cash distributions from European CLOs within their reinvestment period fell to 2.6% in October, down from 2.7% in the third quarter, according to Bank of America (BofA) Global Research. That was the weakest reading since Q2 2020, when distributions reached 2.5%. Of https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27815&SID=85312&article=SCI in Focus: Telecoms trouble tests European CLOs STORM en Subscription 2026-10-26T00:00:00Z SCI in Focus: Telecoms trouble tests European CLOs Trouble among the big names in the telecommunications sector has haunted the European loan market over recent weeks, with a number of CLOs exposed to struggling loans and distressed bonds. Debt issued by high-profile firms - including Virgin Media O2, VodafoneZiggo and Altice International - is widely held by European CLOs and has seen significant downward repricing activity this year, contributing to broader softening in the European loan market. Indeed, the loan secondary market has weakened considerably over the last two months, https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27815&SID=85315&article=US SRT market on upward trajectory STORM en Subscription 2026-10-26T00:00:00Z US SRT market on upward trajectory The US significant risk transfer market is on an upward trajectory, with regulatory clarity and new demand from the data centre sector driving growth, panellists said at SCI’s World Risk Sharing Summit in London earlier this month. The data centre market is currently driving the US economy and is “a great avenue for the SRT market”, a panellist explained, as the sector is primarily funded by bank debt. The speaker also added that data centre-linked SRT trades are coming to market in the US. SCI recently reporte https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27814&SID=85311&article=Job swaps weekly: Lloyds reshuffles, Sound Point expands in Europe STORM en Subscription 2026-10-23T00:00:00Z Job swaps weekly: Lloyds reshuffles, Sound Point expands in Europe This week’s roundup of securitisation job swaps sees Lloyds Banking Group making senior appointments across its asset risk transfer and sales teams, while Standard Chartered has appointed a new global head of securities services and digital assets. Elsewhere, Sound Point Capital Management is expanding its European private credit capabilities with a new investment team from Ninety One, while State Street Corporation has added an AXA veteran to its board of directors. Lloyds Banking Group has made two senior appointments, with Nils N https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27814&SID=85310&article=Schonfeld hires BMO veteran Leclerc for Toronto expansion STORM en Subscription 2026-10-23T00:00:00Z Schonfeld hires BMO veteran Leclerc for Toronto expansion Schonfeld Strategic Advisors has hired Jean-Francois Leclerc as a credit portfolio manager, as the New York-based hedge fund opens its first office in Canada, in a move that comes amid renewed SRT activity in the country. Leclerc has yet to start at Schonfeld and the firm has not disclosed his start date. He joins from Polar Asset Management Partners, where he was an associate portfolio manager for three years. His LinkedIn profile indicates that he left Polar in August 2026. Before joining Polar, Leclerc spent 20 years at BMO Capital Marke https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27814&SID=85309&article=SCI In Focus: US middle-market private credit stress exceeds reported defaults STORM en Subscription 2026-10-23T00:00:00Z SCI In Focus: US middle-market private credit stress exceeds reported defaults Moody’s has warned that credit stress among US middle-market borrowers is more widespread than reported defaults suggest, with payment-in-kind (PIK) amendments and maturity extensions lifting its estimated default rate to 5.8% from 4%. The rating agency's US private credit report, published on 14 October, analysed 607 credit estimate (CE) issuers held by 47 Moody’s-rated middle-market CLOs over the 12 months to June 2026. It identified 24 reported defaults, rising to 35 default-equivalent events when six PIK amendments and https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27814&SID=85307&article=Italian consumer finance bank completes fourth cash SRT STORM en Subscription 2026-10-23T00:00:00Z Italian consumer finance bank completes fourth cash SRT Compass has completed a €900m consumer loan securitisation structured to meet significant risk transfer requirements, SCI has learned, marking the Italian lender’s fourth cash SRT transaction. The transaction follows a €950m consumer loan securitisation completed in April, which was Compass’s third cash SRT under its Quarzo securitisation platform. Mediobanca acted as arranger on the latest transaction, with BBVA, Bank of America, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Soci&a https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27814&SID=85306&article=Frothy AI valuations could come to grief STORM en Subscription 2026-10-23T00:00:00Z Frothy AI valuations could come to grief The AI bubble is set to burst, with potentially seismic consequences for expected liquidity in the structured finance market, says a noted independent research firm. “People are starting to note the liquidity is tightening up, and that to me means that the correction is a question of when, not if,” says David Trainer, ceo of New Constructs, a 20-year old data-driven investment research firm. He calls the imminent IPO of Anthropic, likely to be valued at around US$2trn, “the most ridiculous IPO of 2026,&rdqu https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27814&SID=85303&article=MDBs in a changing SRT world - video STORM en Subscription 2026-10-22T00:00:00Z MDBs in a changing SRT world - video Flavio Cabas, senior investment manager of the European Investment Fund, talks to SCI's Simon Boughey about why the EIF likes SRT assets. He also discusses the contribution to the growth and development of global SRT an MDB like the EIF can make, and the likely imminent regulatory changes that will shape the market. Simon Boughey https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27814&SID=85305&article=Investor challenges conventional view of SRT as capital relief STORM en Subscription 2026-10-22T00:00:00Z Investor challenges conventional view of SRT as capital relief An investor has challenged the conventional view of SRT transactions as an instrument of regulatory capital relief, arguing that they should instead be viewed as “regulatory capital securities” that may enhance bank solvency. In a recent commentary published by Man Group, the author argues that a lack of clarity over the definition of bank capital stems from ambiguities within banking regulations. The article defines bank capital as resources that absorb losses when things go wrong. Under this interpret https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27814&SID=85304&article=SCI In Conversation Podcast: Elaine Furnari, Citco STORM en Subscription 2026-10-22T00:00:00Z SCI In Conversation Podcast: Elaine Furnari, Citco In the latest episode of SCI In Conversation, ABF Editor Jacob Chilvers speaks with Citco’s Elaine Furnari about the increasing expectations of loan level data, advancements in collateral monitoring, and the role loan servicers are playing in an increasingly timing-driven market. This episode can be accessed here, as well as wherever you usually get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify (just search for SCI In Conversation). Jacob Chilvers https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27814&SID=85302&article=ICG prepares CLO equity fund to support further issuance STORM en Subscription 2026-10-22T00:00:00Z ICG prepares CLO equity fund to support further issuance Asset manager ICG is preparing to raise a CLO equity fund to support additional European CLO issuance, SCI has learned. The fund is intended to finance further issuance rather than expand the firm’s existing CLO management platform, a spokesperson from the firm tells SCI.  The fundraising plans come amid separate market speculation about the ownership of ICG’s European CLO business amid poor performance, according to market sources. Rumours that the business could be put up for sale have circulated, alt https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27814&SID=85301&article=ABF Deal Digest: KKR expands solar JV with TotalEnergies, while MidOcean and Idea Financial form new lending venture STORM en Subscription 2026-10-22T00:00:00Z ABF Deal Digest: KKR expands solar JV with TotalEnergies, while MidOcean and Idea Financial form new lending venture This week’s ABF roundup sees KKR expand its US solar joint venture with TotalEnergies. Meanwhile, MidOcean Partners and Idea Financial have formed a US$225m lending venture, and Victory Park Capital has launched a tokenised feeder fund. KKR expands US solar JV with TotalEnergies KKR has agreed to expand its US solar joint venture with TotalEnergies, adding a 700MW portfolio of three utility-scale projects in Texas and Ohio at an enterprise value of US$1.2bn. The deal lifts the 50/50 venture’s total capacity from https://www.structuredcreditinvestor.com/Article.asp?PUB=254&ISS=27814&SID=85300&article=Irish lender targets 25-30bps capital benefit from project finance SRT STORM en Subscription 2026-10-21T00:00:00Z Irish lender targets 25-30bps capital benefit from project finance SRT Allied Irish Banks (AIB) plans to execute a further SRT transaction in 2026, including project finance loans, with an anticipated benefit of around 25-30bps to its CET1 capital ratio, SCI has learned. Several market sources have indicated that the transaction references a portfolio of approximately €2.5bn of project finance exposures, with Banco Santander and Howden Group involved. Sources say the transaction remains ongoing, with completion expected later this year.  The planned transaction would be the third under AIB&am