US CLO issuance sets new record

摘要

Issuance of US CLOs has set a new annual record, even as spreads on the funds' most senior tranches widen and regulatory scrutiny of their underlying assets increases. There have been US$124.6bn of US CLOs raised so far year, topping the previous record of US$123.6bn set in 2014, according to LPC Collateral data. Another record US$149.6bn of deals has been refinanced, reset or reissued in 2018. Investors have turned to the CLO market, the largest buyers of leveraged loans, as a hedge against rising rates. The Federal Reserve has hiked rates eight times in the past three years with a ninth increase expected this month.