Cloud 9fin

The 9fin editorial team has been with you all year to discuss the major trends affecting the leveraged finance industry. In this 2022 wrap up we discuss the Russia-Ukraine war's impact on the industry, inflation and how the sellside tackled its hung pipeline. We don't go so far as to predict 2023 trends just yet, but we reckon A&Es will play a big part. Thanks to all our listeners and contribu...

What does MFN stand for? Why does it appear in corporate credit agreements? Why would borrowers try to get around it and what happens when they succeed? And what does all of this mean for the private credit market after years of hot dealmaking? Will Caiger-Smith and Bill Weisbrod break it all down.

In this special episode the Cloud 9fin team discusses their experience of the PRI In Person conference in Barcelona and speaks to delegates from Neuberger Berman, Alliance Bernstein, BNP Paribas and Circle Economy.

It's Thanksgiving week in the US, which normally means the beginning of the end for the year's primary issuance — but this year might not follow the normal rules. We round up recent primary market news, explain the deteriorating outlook in the building products and software sectors, and unpack some new data around investor-facing hires on the buyside.

The 9fin content and analytics team wrap up the week's activity and co-head of European loans research Jainisha Amin discusses structural adjustments. ESG analyst Sammy Cole does a second part on new developments in SFDR and editor Chris Haffenden and distressed debt reporter Bianca Boorer talk Orpea's new restructuring plan.

The primary market is back open (for now) but there's a slow squeeze happening in secondary. Liquidity is poor, and lower-rated credits are underperforming — and it's going to get worse before it gets better. Will Caiger-Smith sits down with Emily Fasold to talk about the reinvestment crunch.

The 9fin content and analytics team wrap up the week's activity and senior legal analyst Alice Holian discusses dangerous covenant pitfalls with regard to Envision. ESG analyst Sammy Cole talks about new developments in SFDR and credit analyst Josh Latham and loans reporter Laura Thompson discuss European high-yield's upcoming maturity wall.

Moving or storage? Fix and flip or buy and hold? These days, investment banks are under increasing pressure to compete with private credit firms — that's why many of them have set up their own direct lending groups. Marisa Sotomayor sits down with Will Caiger-Smith to explain how these businesses work.

The 9fin content and analytics team wraps up the week's activity and co-head of European HY research Brian Dearing discusses subordination with regard to the recent Brightspeed and Carnival deals. ESG analyst Oliver Wise makes his debut on the pod to discuss Verisure's ESG issues and loans reporter Kat Hidalgo and US editor Will Caiger-Smith discuss the health of the CLO market in the light of Jap...

Last month, a group of climate protestors stormed a panel at a US private equity conference and lambasted ESG. A few weeks earlier, Texas and Florida had blacklisted ESG investment firms or banned the use of the practice. How did Republican politicians and left-wing activists end up united in their criticism of ESG?

The 9fin content and analytics team wraps up the week's activity and co-head of European loans research Jainisha Amin explains MFN clauses. Loans reporter Kat Hidalgo and Michal Skypala talk the steadily drying leveraged loans pipeline and ESG analyst Dan Power talks about issues on Graanul Invest and the biomass industry. 

For LBO underwriters, the good old days are well and truly over. The Citrix syndication, which officially closed last week, showed how banks are pulling out all the stops to offload risk while minimizing losses — and this new playbook involves some potentially awkward and painful consequences. Will Caiger-Smith sits down with Steven Hunter, 9fin's CEO, to map out this brave new world.

In this special episode the Cloud9fin team discusses their experience of the IPEM conference in Cannes, speaks to delegates and gives you a special look into two panel discussions from the event.

How do you go from working from one of the world's biggest advocates for ESG investing to joining a firm that thinks ESG is a scam? Our US editor Will Caiger-Smith talks to Matt Cole, a former CalPERS portfolio manager who recently moved to Strive Asset Management — the "anti-woke" investment firm that wants to compete with the likes of BlackRock and Vanguard.

Special bonus episode of Cloud 9fin, the leveraged finance podcast. Co-head of European HY covenant research Caitlin Carey discusses bond docs on the Citrix debt financing.

The 9fin content and analytics team wraps up the week's activity. Speakers from the Investors Conference on UK Mortgage Finance go into detail on mortgage regulation, impacting levfin issuers like Miller Homes and Keepmoat. ESG analyst Sammy Cole breaks down Ford's new green bond and loans reporters Kat Hidalgo and Michal Skypala talk trends in Q2 earnings.  0:00 - Intro 0:48 - Levfin Wrap 1:59 -...

Labor Day beckons, which means it's nearly the end of summer — and it's been a weird one. As we try to make sense of yet another strange post-Covid season for credit markets, our US editor Will Caiger-Smith sits down with Jeremy Burton of PineBridge Investments to discuss the Fed, the LBO market and second quarter earnings.

The 9fin content and analytics team wraps up the week's activity, co-head of European HY research Brian Dearing and credit analyst Nathan Mitchell discuss trends in redemption mechanics and distressed analyst Emmet McNally tells loans reporter Kat Hidalgo all about the issues facing domestic appliances manufacturer PDA. 0:00 - Intro 1:03 - Levfin Wrap 1:38 - Covenant close-up: Redemption mechanics...

It's been a weird summer: equities have rebounded and there's been some good news on inflation, but with rates still extremely high and a big LBO backlog the outlook for credit is unclear. How are portfolio managers and CLO issuers approaching this market? Bill Weisbrod dials up John Fraser, head of global structured credit at Tikehau Capital, for answers.

The 9fin content and analytics team wraps up the week's activity and co-heads of European loans research Jainisha Amin and Christine Tognoli discuss which terms investors are pushing back on and which ones they should be pushing back on more. Loans reporter Kat Hidalgo talks ESG issues on the Ekaterra deal floating about the levfin market with ESG analyst Jack David and editor Chris Haffenden does...

How do you stay ahead in the war for talent and make sure you're building a diverse team? We have questions, and Sasha Jensen — founder of credit recruitment firm Jensen Partners — has answers.

The 9fin content and analytics team wraps up the week's activity, co-heads of European loans research Jainisha Amin and Christine Tognoli discuss where lenders get better documentation between Europe and the US. ESG analyst Jack David also speaks about whether there is an observable greenium in sustainability-linked instruments and loans reporter Kat Hidalgo and senior reporter Owen Sanderson disc...

We're back to outside guests this week, as 9fin's US editor Will Caiger-Smith dials up Kris Ring, a debt finance partner at Goodwin Procter on the West Coast. With primary issuance so slow, what are lawyers and sponsors working on these days?

The 9fin content and analytics team wraps up the week's activity, co-head of European loans research Christine Tognoli talks about changes seen on 888 and what they mean for the market. ESG analyst Jack David also speaks about SLB regulation and loans reporter Kat Hidalgo and distressed debt reporter Lara Gibson review deals linked with direct lenders and discusses the direct lending firms' contin...

The cost of refinancing gets higher and higher almost every day. This week, Will Caiger-Smith sits down with David Bell, 9fin's new US deputy editor, to discuss what's in store for companies that missed last year's rock-bottom rates.