logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2020
22m 9s

Direct lending rush

Financial Times
About this episode

The pandemic docked Carnival’s cruise ships and grounded Bombardier’s planes. But when the companies were in need of cash, one went to the bond market and the other to a direct lender. Robert Smith, FT capital market correspondent and Nikou Asgari, FT corporate finance reporter, tell the story of the billion dollar private debt deals shaping who has the capital to weather the crisis. 


Review Clips: CNBC, Reuters, ABC News


Read more from Nikou, Rob and the rest of the corporate finance team

Covid-linked debt rush ignites direct lending market

Asset managers in $300bn drive to build private lending funds


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Feb 25
Companies reap $22bn from Trump’s immigration crackdown
Raids by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement have made national headlines. But behind ICE’s operations, a sprawling web of private companies – from global powerhouses to niche family-run businesses – have secured hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts. Pet ... Show More
25m 41s
Feb 18
How a private equity pioneer lost its grip on the market it invented
Partners Group pursued an innovative approach to private equity: The firm built a business serving a market of individual investors. Now, a recent executive order from US President Donald Trump is set to unlock that marketplace on an even grander scale.The only thing is, Partners ... Show More
18m 51s
Feb 11
A hedge fund’s $8bn bet on Venezuela’s Citgo
When the hedge fund Elliott Management pursued the acquisition of the oil refinery business Citgo a few years ago, the deal was already a complicated one. A US court had ordered its current owner, Venezuela, to sell the business, and the country was not happy about it. But, thing ... Show More
20m 1s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2023
Mortgage Bonds Blow Up; Banks Feel Regulatory Heat
<p>The $8 trillion mortgage-bond market plunged to levels rarely seen since the global financial crisis as Treasury yields surged. To analyze why and what’s next, we’re joined by Christopher Maloney, mortgage strategist at BOK Financial Capital Markets, and Bloomberg News reporte ... Show More
37m 45s
Sep 2023
Hedge Funds Are Diving Into CLOs; AT1s Revitalize
Hedge funds are jumping into the collateralized loan obligation market in pursuit of fat and steady returns, according to Bloomberg News’ Lisa Lee. CLOs are meanwhile menaced by the lingering threat of recession and higher rates — while increasingly repackaging private debt — Lee ... Show More
29m 22s
Apr 2023
What Commercial Real Estate Stress Means for Banks and Bond Funds
In the last month or so, two macro risks have become top of mind for investors. One is the stability of regional banks. The other is the weakness in the commercial real estate market. On some level, they're separate stories, but they're also linked, since regional banks tend to d ... Show More
47m 42s
Sep 2023
Junk Debt Markets Are Hot Again; Real Estate Strife
Leveraged finance has sprung back to life with jumbo buyout deals and dividend loans, according to Bloomberg News’ Claire Ruckin. Credit investors are increasingly hungry for risk and companies are piling on debt amid hopes of a soft landing and lower rates ahead, Ruckin says. In ... Show More
28m 58s
Aug 2023
Private Debt Defaults Accelerate; China’s Bond Mess
Companies that borrowed from private markets are struggling to pay as interest rates surge, according to Bloomberg News’ Kat Hidalgo. There’s more distress to come amid record levels of fundraising and ever-increasing deal sizes, Hidalgo says. In this episode of the Credit Edge P ... Show More
34m 20s
Dec 2023
Private Debt ‘Tourists’ May Do Bad Deals; Bank Outlook
New entrants to the rapidly-growing private credit market, scrambling to deploy capital as demand exceeds supply, risk making loans that don’t perform well, according to Alan Schrager, senior partner and portfolio manager at Oak Hill Advisors. “You sort of love private credit tou ... Show More
51m 56s
Mar 2020
Behind the Money: Ford, GM and the corporate dash for cash
Behind the Money is a podcast from the Financial Times that takes listeners inside the business and financial stories of the moment, with reporting from FT journalists around the world. You can find Behind the Money wherever you get your podcasts, including FT.com/behindthemoney. ... Show More
18m 51s
Aug 2023
Debt Markets Ready for Sales Rush; Cruise Comeback
Banks are readying about $15 billion of leverage buyout debt for sale starting in September, stepping back into M&A after losses piled up on their books last year, Bloomberg News’ Paula Seligson, says. Also on this episode of the Credit Edge podcast, Bloomberg News corporate fina ... Show More
31m 21s
Jan 2024
Vanguard Sees Recession Risk; Dish Blowup Rattles Junk
 The US economy is at risk of tipping into recession in the second half of this year, putting pressure on corporate debt markets, says Chris Alwine, global head of credit at Vanguard. “What would precipitate that shallow recession is that corporations are just not hiring, with a ... Show More
45m 31s