Leveraged Loan Pricings Hit Record Amid New-Debt Drought (1)

May has been the busiest month ever in the US leveraged loan market, with corporate borrowers taking advantage of investors’ relentless demand for the higher-rate debt.

Firms have priced $160 billion of leveraged loans this month, easily the most since Bloomberg began tracking broadly syndicated loan launches in 2013. More than 80% of that total have been loan repricings, in which borrowers seek to redo terms in order to lower interest expenses. That’s also the highest figure in the data series.

Source: Source: Bloomberg

Loan buyers — including the biggest source of demand, collateralized loan obligation managers — generally dislike repricings. ...