Deals
Leveraged-Loan Sales Slump to Worst Since 2010 on Fed Scrutiny
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The market for loans to below-investment grade companies is off to its slowest start in five years as regulators step up efforts to curb risky underwriting and investors put their money elsewhere.
About $63 billion of leveraged loans have been sold to money managers this year, down 69 percent from 2014 and the least since $53 billion was issued during the same period in 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Investors have pulled a net $5.5 billion this year from funds that buy the debt, adding to last year’s record $23.9 billion in withdrawals and further denting demand for debt that’s backing acquisitions of companies from PetSmart Inc. to Office Depot Inc.