The Upgrade: Episode 28: Material Shifts In Key Credit Stats Drove Downgrades To 'B-' And 'CCC'
CLOs Uncovered
English - June 16, 2023 18:19 - 7 minutes - 7.09 MBInvesting Business News Business News business credit finance spglobal analysis clo corporate corporatecredits deals insight Homepage Download Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
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In this discussion, Minesh Patel, the US sector lead of Leveraged Finance at S&P Global Ratings, teams up with the Director of Leveraged Finance, Hanna Zhang, to explore the key insights presented in Hanna's latest commentary, titled "U.S. Leveraged Finance Q1 2023 Update: Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes -- Material Shifts In Key Credit Stats Drove Downgrades To 'B-' And 'CCC', And Upgrades To 'B-'."
Key takeaways from the article include:
Within 12 months leading to a rating action, higher debt service costs and slower profit growth were often the leading factors in downgrades to 'B-' and the 'CCC' category (CCC+/CCC/CCC-). Median leverage for companies downgraded to the 'CCC' category rose to 15.5x as EBITDA all but dried up. It was 8x for entities rated 'B-'. We estimate that roughly 37% of 'B' rated issuers employ interest rate hedges. Interest rate sensitivity for 'B-' rated companies is much higher, with roughly 19% employing hedges and 90% floating-rate debt exposure. Speculative-grade borrowers may be returning to cash preservation, but 2022 was loaded with shareholder rewards and heavy working capital investment for companies rated 'B+' and higher. Issues with recovery expectations within the 50%-70% range account for two-thirds of total new issuance in the first quarter of 2023, although average recovery expectations remain near the low end of the post-2017 average.The commentary to the related article:
The hyperlink to the interactive dashboard.