Combined AUM approach US$800bn for US CLOs and retail loan funds US CLO assets under management (AUM) have climbed to US$677.24bn in January after a 15% increase last year to US$673bn. Roughly 60% of the assets are in CLOs with a 2017 or later vintage with 8% of assets in vintages from 2014 to 2016….
Spread differential between a unitranche and first-lien loan remains near all-time tights The middle market sponsored loan arena has kicked off 2020 with a slow start in the syndicated loan market. Refinitiv LPC has only tracked about US$2bn in volume, which trails this time last year of US$3.7bn by 46%. The average first-lien spread on…
After record quarter in 4Q19, Green & ESG lending off to strong 2020 start After a strong 4Q19 which culminated in record issuance across the green & ESG markets, 1Q20 issuance has set off at a brisk pace. Nearly US$54bn in green bond volume was completed in 4Q19 via 126 issues to set a new…
Issuer-friendly flex adjustments dominate US institutional loan market in January Flex activity in the US institutional loan market has been extremely friendly towards issuers this month. Refinitiv LPC’s Flex Factor has tracked 20 flexed deals so far in January, all of which have skewed in favor of issuers. This has led to a Flex Factor…
Behind improved market sentiment, US institutional loan pipeline builds The US institutional loan pipeline improved to the US$34bn area last week, its highest January level in the past two years. Market sentiment has improved sharply from a few months ago, particularly for lower-rated issuers. In the secondary market, the B2/B3 cohort of names closed last…
2019 US Syndicated loan volume down 20% compared to 2018 record high At US$2.1trn 2019 U.S. syndicated loan volume was down 20% compared to the record setting US$2.6trn raised the prior year amid a thinner pipeline of deals, higher market valuations and the long – if tangential – shadows cast by geopolitical and economic unease….
Yields bifurcate within the single-B category Investors took a cautious approach and became more selective in the latter part of 2019. In turn, the yield premium between double-B and single-B rated issuers widened significantly. The bifurcation has also trickled down into the single-B category as there has been a wide differential between higher-rated B1/B+ issuers…
US secondary loan bids get a boost from improved single-B sentiment Average bids in the US secondary loan market have been on the upswing of late. The LPC 100, Refinitiv LPC’s cohort of the 100 largest and most liquid loans, closed Monday bid at 98.02, its highest level since August 2. The LPC 100 was…
Defaulted loans ticked down slightly for BDCs in 3Q19 Lenders and investors are exhibiting growing concerns surrounding slowing growth and where the economy is headed. Yet non-accruals within BDC portfolios are not yet showing any accelerating signs of deterioration. As of the September 30 filing date, the share of BDC loans on non-accrual status as…
Oil and gas lending follows oil prices down The oil and gas industry is facing many challenges – recession fears, the ongoing trade war, regulatory shifts and excess global supply amid slowing growth in demand – all of which have curtailed any expectations of a meaningful increase in oil and gas prices. Oil prices have…