Not a Normal Mortgage Crisis: How the Mortgage Industry Weathered the Pandemic
On August 29, the CFPB issued a consent order against a non-bank direct mortgage lender for misrepresenting the cost of its cash-out refinance loans, which are guaranteed under the VA home loan program, to active-duty...more
Leveraged loan activity in the US and Europe sprang back to life in H1 2024, with both markets enjoying near-triple-digit increases in issuance. In the US, overall issuance surged 95.7% from US$461 billion in H1 2023 to...more
A number of factors have combined to cause an almost “perfect storm” for commercial real estate distress. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a rise in remote and hybrid work, increasing vacancy rates and decreasing property values....more
On May 7, 2024, Morrison Foerster’s New York City office co-hosted a Private Markets Pop-Up with Kayo Conference Series, an event that brought together professional women across the private credit and private equity markets...more
The high yield bond markets in the US and Europe sprang back to life in Q1 2024, with issuance showing strong gains after a slow 2023. US high yield bond issuance for Q1 2024 came in at US$68.6 billion, almost doubling...more
After a challenging 2023, US and European leveraged loan issuance showed year-on-year gains in Q1 2024 as a more stable interest rate outlook encouraged borrowers and lenders to return to the market. After a challenging...more
The commercial real estate (CRE) market is in a transformative period as remote work has reduced occupancy levels at the same time that financing costs have risen rapidly. The changes have created opportunities for investors...more
High yield bond markets in the US and Western Europe posted double-digit increases in issuance during the first nine months of 2023 as borrowers continued to prefer fixed rate debt products in a high interest rate...more
High yield bond activity rallies in the US as borrowers pivot away from pricier leveraged loans, but European and Asian markets remain challenged US high yield bond activity sparked back to life in H1 2023 as improved...more
The Federal Reserve's most recent Financial Stability Report addressed what many industry watchers had been convinced of for some time: the commercial real estate sector is in a precarious state. The Federal Reserve Bank...more
Our Distressed Debt & Claims Trading Team discusses trading issues related to DQ provisions in broadly syndicated credit facilities and trends providing borrower/sponsor friendly terms creating potential pitfalls for...more
Like many of you, we are seeing a significant increase in commercial real estate (“CRE”) loan workouts. The magnitude of the swell in distressed CRE loans remains unclear, although one thing is certain: appreciating the...more
High yield bond activity in key global markets showed signs of life in Q1 2023, with quarter-on-quarter issuance improving despite ongoing macroeconomic challenges. In the US, high yield bond issuance in Q1 2023 came in at...more
“Call protection” (which you may also hear referred to variously as a “prepayment fee”, “prepayment premium”, “call premium”, “prepayment penalty”, “non‑call”, “hard call”, “soft call” or “make‑whole”) is a core economic term...more
HEADLINES - -Rising interest rates and reduced refinancing options are increasing the likelihood of restructuring and financial distress in the next 12 months -Cov-lite debt packages have given borrowers breathing...more
European leveraged finance markets have been completely reconfigured in the past 12 months. Inflation, rising interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty have squeezed liquidity and seen high yield bond and leveraged loan...more
Increased volatility and reductions in asset values in the equity markets, coupled with rising interest rates and a slowing macroeconomic environment, have affected a wide range of equity-linked products. Continuation of...more
Leveraged loan activity slows in the US, Europe and APAC as a volatile economic backdrop and the rising cost of debt starts to weigh on issuance - Leveraged loan markets have been buffeted by a challenging macroeconomic...more
On December 22, 2021, New York State Senate Bill 2767A was signed into law. The Bill establishes the Private Student Loan Refinancing Task Force (the “Task Force”), which was charged with “study[ing] and analyz[ing] ways...more
The Federal Reserve will likely raise its target federal funds rate by another 0.75 percentage point as early as next week, according to news reports. Fed officials have already raised benchmark short-term borrowing rates 1.5...more
Large double-digit gains in US loan issuance meant leveraged finance markets ended 2021 with a bang and set the stage for robust activity in 2022- The US leveraged finance market posted strong year-on-year gains in 2021 as...more
Europe's CLO market and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) objectives are converging at pace, providing unique opportunities for CLOs to access the vast and rapidly expanding pools of capital earmarked for...more
A rebound in European corporate transactions has driven a double-digit acceleration in leveraged finance earmarked for M&A (excl. buyouts), with a robust pipeline setting the stage for an active 2022. In the summer of...more
European leveraged finance markets roared back to life in 2021, sparked by a combination of attractive pricing in the first half of the year and buoyant M&A activity in the second half. The result? High volumes of refinancing...more
A rebounding domestic economy and abundant liquidity south of the border are encouraging Canadian borrowers to draw on US high yield bond markets in increasing numbers - Canadian borrowers took advantage of buoyant US...more