Excess Spread — Forward flow bank, insolvent retention

Excess Spread — Borrowing long, kind of Blue

The biggest trend in the past few years of credit markets has to be insurance capital, whether its fuelling CLO creation, private investment grade, private placements, related party capital for credit managers or just bidding up most of the bond market. American retirement is a booming business, and, as one credit manager told us this week, “if every other annuity provider could have a balance sheet like Athene, they would”.

Asia weekly — Data center loans, a missed IPO, and a Q3 wrap

Excess Spread — High five, case for the defence

For months, we have been asking Paresh Raja’s representatives for comments on….just about everything. Generally little has been forthcoming, and much of our reporting (there’s a comprehensive guide here) has been informed by the comments and filings from the administrators of the various Market Financial Solutions funding vehicles. Now, however, founder Paresh Raja, via his lawyers at Mishcon de Reya, has filed an extensive defence to some of the claims.

Excess Spread — Just deserts, private IG’s special sauce

Last week we ran a piece on Blackstone’s Project Quasar, the biggest trade in European NPL history. It was part of the clean-up of the collapsed Banco Popular Español in 2017, which saw Santander buy the firm for a symbolic euro, after regulators had road-tested the new European bank resolution framework and toasted all the hybrid capital. Even after these writedowns, Santander still fortified itself with a huge rights issue, anxious to bulk up and get well clear of any residual Spanish-banking-system jitters.

Excess Spread — The almighty dollar, financing logistics

The old exorbitant privilege might be looking a bit creaky, with the 10-year nudging over 5% and absolutely no political prospect of prudence, but still, there’s only one capital market to go to if you absolutely must borrow gigantic sums of money.

Excess Spread — Servicers and lenders, more scandal, really green

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