Europe

“Just when it looked as though the European NPL tide was at last beginning to fall, 14 years on from the start of the great financial crisis, a new surge of NPLs is on the horizon.  It’s time to launch the securitization lifeboats.” – by Tom Brown

“Cracks have appeared in the defenses of European collateralized loan obligations for the first time since the last financial crisis as portfolios buckle under the strain of the coronavirus pandemic.” – by Sarah Husband

“As European countries are easing travel restrictions and governments and central banks have stepped up monetary and fiscal support, investors are looking for opportunities to take on more risk.” – by Paulina Pielichata

“Spain, like other euro zone sovereigns which have used syndications, is paying up to attract investors to its debt. Spain is paying a premium of around 12 basis points to its outstanding bonds, similar to Italy a day earlier.” by Yoruk Bahceli

“Faced with a choice of lending to or investing in failing national champions, a number of governments have opted for the latter, nationalizing airlines, hospitals, automotive firms and other ‘crown jewels’.” – by Alissa Kole Amico

“Covid-19 expected to trigger a massive plunge in foreign direct investment and reinforce protectionist policies among leading recipients.” – by Yigal Chazan

2020 brings with it the 10th year of recovery since the global financial crisis. Equity markets continue to break records, ample credit is available, yet the bullish performance appears cosmetic at times and investing in Europe in 2020 is fraught with political risks.  The US deficit doubled from $385bn to $779bn last year, the UK […]

“Ask any market participant where they think that the next crisis is coming from and their answer will almost always be corporate credit.  We have been watching the market very closely and have seen degradation in investment grade. BBB is the new A.” – by Louise Bowman

“Despite the European macroeconomic picture being “muted” for the past two years, last year saw record activity in most alternative asset classes.  European alternative asset fund managers held €1.62 trillion ($1.82 trillion) in assets as of June 2018, up €300 billion in three years” – by Michael Katz

“The election is a reminder that ultimately it’s member states who have primacy, not European-wide institutions. ” – by Stephen Bush