Bank Loan Report articles from January 2003

Bank Loan Report archives from January 2003

Loan Market Pros Expect Better 2003, but Maintain Caution.(Industry Overview)
January 6, 2003... They are still a little cautious, hesitant to venture too optimistic an outlook for the syndicated loan asset class in 2003. But after a robust fourth quarter during which investor appetite for new deals soared, most loan market pros are...

HY Bonds to Outperform Treasuries in 03.(high yield bonds)(Industry Overview)
January 6, 2003... High yield strategists and investors have reason to believe that their asset class will be a strong performer in 2003, and many are expecting it to outperform US 10-year Treasuries. Merrill Lynch's high yield strategist, Christopher Garman,...

European HY Players Hope for Better 2003.(high yield)(Industry Overview)
January 6, 2003... After a disappointing year, in which European high yield returned a dismal 8.91% according to JP Morgan's euro high yield index, and issuance, at EURO3.7 billion, was down 49% from 2001, it is hard to imagine things getting any worse in 2003....

Like Other Asset Classes, Syndicated Loan Volume Falls in 2002.(Industry Overview)
January 6, 2003... As was the case for other financial markets, 2002 was not the best year for US syndicated loans. Overall volume declined to $1.04 trillion from $1.21 trillion in 2001, according to data from Thomson Financial. Corporate scandals, threats of...

Disclosure and Governance at Top of Investor Wishlist for 2003, PricewaterhouseCooper Survey Says.
January 6, 2003... It is no small wonder that investor confidence was so severely battered in 2002, what with the fall of corporate giants like Enron and WorldCom, the travails of Vivendi, and the collapse of one of the Big Five, Andersen. With investment banks...

2002 Bank Loan Recovery Rates Fall to An All-Time Low.(Standard & Poor's report)
January 13, 2003... Standard & Poor's annual default recovery survey, released last week, painted a grim picture for holders of defaulted loans. As a result of the record defaults of 2002, recovery rates - both in terms of ultimate recovery and trading price...

Being Smaller Does Pay: Bear Stearns.
January 13, 2003... Playing the dual role of advisor and lender to high yield issuers landed some big one-stop shops in hot water last year. But while larger firms might be under the gun, smaller players like Bear Stearns have been able to keep the tide at bay and...

Class Action Suit Sets Minor Precedent.(financial statement manipulation)
January 13, 2003... A recent Houston federal court decision to allow a class action suit against Enron and several other firms that advised its implementation of questionable strategies - ones that allegedly helped it manipulate financial statements - may not set...

Market Eager for Deals - And They're Coming Through Fast.
January 13, 2003... The last quarter of 2002 was a busy one for the loan market, and the pace has not slowed down as 2003 gets underway. Last week saw a proliferation of new issues from a range of industries, and market participants, many of whom are busy...

Despite Tough Environment, Banks Are Ready to Lend.
January 20, 2003... As the new year gets underway, signs of a tough credit environment, like a sky-high default rate and banks increasing their loan loss reserves and announcing chargeoffs for bad loans, abound. Nevertheless, syndicated lenders - with the support...

Distressed Debt CDOs Enroute to Upgrade.
January 20, 2003... After 12 months of record-making downgrades, more than one investor probably flinched when Moody's Investors Service issued an upgrade watch last week for a few classes in both ARK II CLO 2001-1 and Endeavour LLC CDOs, transactions backed...

Patience Will Reward Franklin Templeton.
January 20, 2003... The past 10 months have been busy ones for Richard D'Addario, loan portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Investments. After assuming responsibility for several of Franklin's loans funds in March 2002, he embarked on some major portfolio...

Jack in the Box, Fisher Begin Reverse Flex Trend.
January 20, 2003... It's a crazy market, with plenty of paper pricing, and loan investors grabbing whatever they can get a hold of. Indeed, investor appetite seems to be voracious, and loan deals are blowing out even before the bank meetings take place, a CLO...

Dead Cat Bounce: Too late to Buy January Bounce Bonds?
January 20, 2003... The high yield market is on a roll. Over the past three months, the average high yield fund has been up 10%, 40% on an annualized basis (although it is too early to annualize returns two weeks into the year). Evidently, the market is...

A Bumper Crop of Deals in the Works.
January 20, 2003... The US primary market is starting to ramp up quickly, and the deal pipeline is fattening up fast. Levi Upsizes Issue Denim King Levi-Strauss priced a B3/BB- rated, $100 million add-on to its 10-year 12.25% senior subordinated notes via...

Sovereign Outlook for 2003: Watch out for Brazil, Venezuela.
January 20, 2003... Standard & Poor's sovereign analysts, who released their outlook for 2003 last week, do not expect any major destabilization to or shrinkage of the global economy in 2003, but the prognosis for some nations is far worse than for others. ...

FAS 46: Not as Tough as CDO Managers Thought.
January 27, 2003... A week after its release, much anticipated new guidance from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to account for special purpose entities (SPEs) appears unlikely force an unwanted slew of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) back...

XM Satellite Radio: Will it Stay in Orbit?
January 27, 2003... Satellite radio, like satellite TV before it, is now offering 100 channels, not only to homes, but to cars and boom boxes as well, and the market is going for it in a big way. Heavyweights such as General Motors, Honda and BMW are including the...

MTS Should Fly, But Russia's Still Risky.
January 27, 2003... Hailed by many as the leading cellular phone company in one of the fastest growing mobile phone markets in the world, Russia's Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), certainly appears to have a lot going for it - so much so that while other European...

Has the Loan Market Really Turned Around, or is it a Seasonal Thing? Participants are Wondering What to Think.
January 27, 2003... New issues have been flooding the syndicated loan market since the new year began, and pricing on leveraged deals, which had held firm at the 400 basis points over Libor range until the last weeks of December 2002, has tightened in rapidly,...

Casella Waste First in Line.(private placement offering)(Brief Article)
January 27, 2003... Casella Waste System's private placement of a B3/B-rated $150 million offering of 9.75% senior subordinated notes due 2013, pricing at par via Goldman Sachs, was the first of numerous deals to price last week. The deal, sources close to...

Venezuela's PDVSA Totters As Strike Persists.
January 27, 2003... The ongoing war between Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and workers on a national strike has taken its toll on Petroleos de Venezuela, the country's oil company, a once untouchable giant. Oil production has drastically dried up, and has placed...