Author's Profile

Rachelle Kakouris

Director, EMEA Credit Research

Rachelle Kakouris covers the US leveraged finance markets with a focus on stressed and distressed credits. Before joining LCD, Kakouris was a reporter for Reuters and IFR on the US high-yield corporate bond market in New York. Prior to that, she covered sovereign and covered bonds as a markets reporter for IFR Magazine and IFR Markets in London during the height of the financial crisis.

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Articles by Rachelle Kakouris

Leveraged loan default rate holds slim in October but distressed volume tops $100B

The distressed debt level is the largest it’s been since June 2020, as credit-specific issues emerge among Morningstar Loan Index constituents.
October 31, 2022

LCD Leveraged Loan Survey: Market players still bracing for low point of credit cycle

With inflation and possible recession topping concerns, market players expect increased leveraged loan defaults, lower buyout multiples and more equity in LBOs.
October 11, 2022

Leveraged loan default rate, distress ratio climb amid volatility

Bankruptcy filings courtesy Cineworld and Phoenix Services lifted the leveraged loan default rate to the highest level since June 2021.
October 3, 2022

Riskiest segment of leveraged loans now account for largest share of $1.4T asset class

Borrowers from the B-minus ratings band now account for the largest share of the $1.425 trillion US leveraged loan asset class, the first time that’s been the case.
September 13, 2022

US leveraged loan defaults hit two-year high after $4.5B of August filings

There was more defaulted leveraged loan volume in August than in the prior 17 months combined.
September 3, 2022

Leveraged loan assets under management decline again in July

The value of leveraged loan holdings at mutual and exchange-traded funds fell for a third consecutive month in July, though rebounding secondary prices and a slower pace of outflows tapered the decline.
August 28, 2022

Credit markets brace for recession: LCD survey

Debt-market professionals are bracing for increasing turmoil, according to the latest quarterly survey from LCD.
July 11, 2022

Quick take: After 16 months, upgrade cycle of leveraged loans draws to a close

With the macroeconomic narrative shifting dramatically, the ratio of ratings upgrades to downgrades fell below 1.0x in the second quarter.
July 7, 2022

In flight to safety, leveraged loan AUM shrinks in May, snapping growth streak

AUM at retail investors now stands at $169 billion, equating to roughly 13% of the $1.4 trillion leveraged loan market.
June 23, 2022

First loan index default of 2022 lifts rate from record low; stress rising

Per LCD data, the default rate of the S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index edged from a record low of 0.26% (by issuer count) in April to 0.35% in May.
June 1, 2022