Edward Clark

Primary markets begin to rise Bond issuance began to turn a corner in a handful of regions and sectors during the second quarter as the strain on primary markets from economic and inflationary fears appeared to ease. The recovery followed the collapse in supply over recent quarters, triggered by higher interest rates, the withdrawal of central bank support and wider market volatility. The changing macroeconomic environment can still be seen in overall tempered supply volumes, however.

By Edward Clark and Jelena Cvejic Europe’s leveraged loan market is waking up to the profound impact that increasingly restrictive whitelists will have in a more volatile credit environment. Lenders are now struggling to offload stressed debt or take positions in credits that they believe are oversold, market participants say. By limiting liquidity in the loan market, these provisions have distorted price action and will potentially prolong time-sensitive restructuring processes.

By Johannes Koch, Josh O’Neill, and Edward Clark Mid-market lenders are using a position of relative strength in a risk-off environment to hit back at over-engineered EBITDA adjustments that were the norm in dealmaking barely a year ago. The global pandemic ushered in widely accepted operational cost – and synergy-adjustments to EBITDA calculations as sponsor-led deals flourished.