CRC and Chesapeake TLs lead largest losers in falling oil and gas loan prices As oil and gas companies try to weather these tumultuous times, some investors are worried that reduced revenue may push some oil and gas issuers to default on their corporate debt. This concern has been pushing oil and gas loan prices…
Unitranche in price discovery mode, likely moving back over 600bp Amid falling Libor and more volatile pricing conditions in the syndicated market, unitranche pricing is moving higher after hitting rock bottom levels in 4Q19. So far in 1Q20, the average blended spread on a unitranche is 590bp, up from a low of 578bp in 4Q19….
As deals get pulled from the market, US institutional loan pipeline sinks under US$14bn Behind a weakening primary loan market impacted by fears of the spread of coronavirus, the US institutional loan pipeline sank to US$13.7bn this week, the lowest level since the first week of the year. This week’s level is a far cry…
Oil and gas is the top defaulted sector in U.S. CLOs as of January At the end of January 2020, oil & gas, aerospace and defense, and mining were the top defaulted sectors in active US CLOs on a volume basis. Oil and gas had US$1.06bn of loan debt in 642 CLOs, of which US$602m…
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….