Talking Point

  • Reframing the narrative on captive CLO equity

    CLO equity has a new investor base in the captive era

    A number of CLO managers and investors have pushed back on the wider narrative surrounding the impact of captive equity funds on the global CLO market. 

    Criticism of how these platforms have distorted the primaries in both US and European markets has been loud, with traditional third party equity investors admitting it is becoming very .......

    Talking Point 20 October 2026

  • CME Group sees leveraged loan futures as fast hedge for broad loan exposure

    Traditional asset managers are early adopters, while CLO man...

    CME Group is positioning its newly launched leveraged loan futures as a liquid, standardised way for investors to add or cut broad loan-market exposure quickly, with traditional asset managers likely to be among the first adopters and CLO managers a potential source of demand.

    Following the firm’s S&P UBS USD Liquid Leveraged Loan Index futures .......

    Talking Point 13 October 2026

  • European CLO maturity wall unlikely to trigger sharp refinancing wave

    Managers are expected to weigh reset costs against liability...

    The European CLO market is unlikely to face a sharp refinancing wave as a cohort of deals approaches the end of their reinvestment periods, with managers able to reset transactions, refinance liabilities or allow portfolios to amortise.

    “CLOs do not have much of a maturity wall in the traditional sense, as they typically repay, or refinance and extend, well ahead of their .......

    Talking Point 12 October 2026

  • CFO issuance accelerates as NAV market expands

    Managers turn to CFOs for fundraising while NAV facilities g...

    CFO issuance is accelerating in 2026 as private capital managers increasingly turn to structured finance to raise capital, while NAV lending continues to expand as a source of fund-level liquidity.

    KBRA has rated more CFO issuance by notional so far this year, with further deals expected in the fourth quarter, according to Thomas Speller, .......

    Talking Point 8 October 2026

  • BDC discounts driven by structure, not CLO fundamentals, says Natixis

    BDC discounts reflect liquidity and fee drag, not a gap in underlying credit quality versus CLOs

    Discounts in publicly traded business development companies (BDC) do not point to a deterioration in underlying credit relative to CLOs, but instead reflect structural differences between the two vehicles, according to Chris Gilbert co-head of the securitised products group at Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking.

    “It’s not quite right” to compare BDCs and CLOs directly, Gilbert .......

    Talking Point 5 October 2026

  • AI-linked loans test CLO pricing frameworks as supply rebounds

    Arini's Mehdi Kashani warns data centre financing tied to ar...

    CLOs managers may increasingly be exposed to assets the market does not yet fully understand as artificial intelligence-linked financing begins to enter collateral pools, according to Mehdi Kashani, head of structured credit at London-based credit hedge fund Arini Capital Management.

    Kashani says the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, particularly US data centre-related .......

    Talking Point 28 September 2026

  • Lower-rated CLO issuance skews toward double-B risk as triple-Cs remain marginal

    Risk is concentrated in double-B tranches across new deals ...

    Lower-rated CLO issuance has picked up alongside broader primary market activity, but triple-C tranches remain rare.

    SCI primary data, covering issuance from 1 January 2025 to date, shows 1,984 double-B-rated tranches versus just ten rated triple-C. Even at the bottom of the capital structure, issuance is overwhelmingly concentrated in double-Bs, which remain a consistent feature .......

    Talking Point 24 September 2026

  • Rated feeder boom driven by insurers, says NEPC

    Structures offer regulatory benefits but added complexity and limited track record warrant caution

    Rated note feeder structures continue to gain traction across private markets, as institutional investors seek more efficient ways to allocate capital while managing regulatory constraints.

    NEPC has observed a marked increase in interest in these vehicles over the past two years, driven primarily by their potential to improve capital treatment for certain investors. By allowing a portion of a .......

    Talking Point 23 September 2026

  • How infrastructure CLOs are becoming a strategic growth area for Hogan Lovells Cadwalader

    The firm says a growing pipeline of infrastructure CLOs is m...

    Infrastructure CLOs are becoming an increasingly important part of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader’s CLO practice, as the firm sees a growing pipeline of transactions move from prospective mandates into live deals in both the US and Europe.

    David Gingold, partner at the firm in the US, tells SCI, the team had undertaken “quite a bit of .......

    Talking Point 22 September 2026

  • SCI: 20 years on

    Richard Robb, ceo of CRC, recalls how SCI has evolved alongs...

    Every thriving industry co-evolves alongside its lead publication. Wall Street has its Journal, advertising has AdAge, and we have Structured Credit Investor. An authoritative forum for news, analysis, data and awards – it makes our industry feel more … real.

    A lot has changed since SCI launched, but then again, 20 years is a long time. Looking .......

    Talking Point 6 August 2026

  • Transformation and turbulence

    Readers recall the key events over SCI's first 20 years

    The first issue of Structured Credit Investor was published this week in 2006 and since then the publication has provided structured credit news and analysis to the buyside through ever-changing times. SCI has documented not only the evolution of the securitisation markets over the last 20 years, but also the broader transformation of risk transfer and capital formation across .......

    Talking Point 4 August 2026

  • The independent director myth: structured finance's most convenient governance fiction

    Peterson Frederick, chairman and interim ceo of Northern Pro...

    The ‘independent’ director on an SPV’s board is picked, paid and can be replaced by the very firm administering the vehicle they’re meant to police. Structured finance has spent three decades treating that as normal. It shouldn’t.

    Every offering memorandum carries the same reassuring line: the Issuer’s board includes an independent director. Investors read it and move on. .......

    Talking Point 30 July 2026

  • Sophistication and size: Inside fund finance boom

    Julia Keppe, lawyer at Walkers Jersey, on the evolution of f...

    Q: You've practised in London, New York, and now Jersey since 2006. What's the biggest shift you've seen in how fund finance deals are structured across these markets?

    A: The evolution from then to now is unbelievable. It's a much, much larger group of people, as well as a totally different product. It started off with sub lines .......

    Talking Point 21 July 2026

  • Valuations are becoming private credit's operating test

    Kanav Kalia, md at Oxane Partners, argues that firms best po...

    Private credit is entering a new phase, and valuations are where that change is becoming impossible to ignore. For years, the industry operated on quarterly cycles, spreadsheet-driven models and marks that were good enough for a slower, more institutionally contained market. That is no longer the environment in which funds, banks or asset owners are operating.

    Retail capital .......

    Talking Point 14 July 2026

  • SCI in Focus: How Angle Auto Finance puts Australian auto ABS on the global map

    Regular issuance, prime auto collateral and a diversified in...

    Angle Auto Finance has built its global ABS profile over the last five years through its Panorama Auto Trust programme, as global investors increase their exposure to Australia’s expanding non-bank auto finance sector.

    The firm’s most recent public transaction, Panorama Auto Trust 2026-1, was a A$1.0bn Auto ABS backed by a pool of prime fixed-rate first-ranking charge auto .......

    Talking Point 10 July 2026

  • SCI In Focus: CLOs emerge as key funding tool for expanding private credit platforms

    Managers increasingly view CLOs as a scalable and resilient...

    The rapid growth of the private credit market over the last decade has also seen increased issuance of private credit CLOs, with a deepening market which has become an attractive alternative to BSL CLOs in recent years.

    US private credit CLO tranche volume in 2026 stands at US$16.7bn YTD, roughly one tenth of the overall CLO market .......

    Talking Point 26 May 2026

  • SCI in Focus: AI adoption in the CLO market

    AI tools have the potential to reshape CLO workflows and dis...

    The CLO market has been grappling with the implications of AI disruption for several years, with concerns intensifying earlier this year. However, the technology also has the potential to transform CLO workflows themselves.

    The capabilities of generative AI tools, powered by large language models, are well-suited to the credit industry where analysts are required to process large volumes of .......

    Talking Point 18 May 2026

  • Chinese EV expansion seen as gradual shift in Europe, not auto ABS disruption

    Morningstar says underwriting quality and residual value management matter more than vehicle origin

    Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers are becoming increasingly visible across Europe, but according to Morningstar’s latest ‘Securitisation Insights’ podcast, the impact on auto ABS remains more evolutionary than disruptive.

    The discussion focused on whether the rapid growth of Chinese EV brands changes the risk profile of the car loans and leases packaged into European ABS transactions. While concerns .......

    Talking Point 13 May 2026

  • CLO sell-off masks technical dislocation, not credit deterioration, says CIFC

    CIFC argues recent drawdowns are driven by liquidity pressur...

    In the past twelve months, CLO markets have experienced a sharp repricing that reflects deteriorating credit fundamentals. Yet, according to Jay Huang, senior managing director and head of structured credit investments at CIFC, this narrative is potentially misleading.

    The recent drawdowns - approximately 30% over the past year and around 20% year-to-date - are driven far more by .......

    Talking Point 27 April 2026

  • Balancing SRT regulatory safeguards and market innovation - part two

    In the second instalment of a two-part primer on the SRT mar...

    SRT transactions are a key capital management tool for financial institutions worldwide and their utilisation is set to grow as banks seek to optimise their balance sheets further and mitigate risk. However, the regulatory environment continues to evolve, with the next 12 months likely to play an important role in the interplay between regulatory safeguards and market innovation. In .......

    Talking Point 7 April 2026

  • Balancing SRT regulatory safeguards and market innovation - part one

    In the first instalment of a two-part primer on the SRT mark...

    SRT transactions are a key capital management tool for financial institutions worldwide and their utilisation is set to grow as banks seek to optimise their balance sheets further and mitigate risk. However, the regulatory environment continues to evolve, with the next 12 months likely to play an important role in the interplay between regulatory safeguards and market innovation. In .......

    Talking Point 31 March 2026
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