Chart of the Week: Flex Signs
Pricing on almost 100% of US leveraged loans was flexed in favor of the issuer during July and August.
Pricing on almost 100% of US leveraged loans was flexed in favor of the issuer during July and August.
Since the correction of August 2015, all-in institutional spreads for single-B loans have contracted 200 bps.
Total leveraged loan volume so far for the first three quarters of 2017 has matched the high for the same period four years ago.
Since mid-May both one-month and three-month Libor rates have been consistently above the 1% benchmark floor for many leverage loans.
Loans held by middle market CLOs are $33 billion, less than 8% of those held by broadly syndicated vehicles.
Between now and 2023 some $238 billion of middle market sponsored syndicated loans mature, peaking at over $14 billion by the second quarter of 2021.
Annual issuance of middle market sponsored loans has averaged just over $100 billion, though 2017 is running at a $140 billion pace.
The outstanding volume of all US leveraged loans, now at $924 billion, has steadily risen.
Since early last year, leverage vs. yield for middle market institutional loans has deteriorated in favor of the issuer.
Second quarter activity in middle market sponsored loans tailed off slightly from the previous quarter, though at $16.2 billion was up from 2Q 2017.