Moody's segnala come il rilassamento dell'avversione al rischio e lo "yield hunting" si siano spinti al punto per cui le più recenti emissioni HY risultano più covenant-lite (e quindi meno protettive per i bondholders) di quelle viste nell'ultima fase delle precedente bolla di liquidità (2006- luglio 2007), che, lo rammento, ha preceduto una fase di sostanziale chiusura del mercato primario HY che in Europa fu totale e durò fino a febbraio 2009 ed in USA un po' meno estrema e si concluse attorno a fine novembre 2008.
Addirittura ci sono state emissioni a rating molto basso, fino a B3, prive del tutto di misure di protezione per i bondholders.
Moody's nota che a questo fenomeno si aggiunge quello dei bond "secured" emessi da issuer di rating Caa/B singola che tuttavia sono strutturati in modo da aggiungere un plus di protezione ai bondholders che è solo nominale.
Inoltre, secondo Moody's, gli emittenti preferiscono rialzare la cedola piuttosto che offrire maggiore protezione ai bondholders (ndr. probabilmente perché così si intaccherebbe la possibilità, in caso di bisogno, di procurarsi credito bancario sovrastante, dando in garanzia qualcosa di tangibile, ed azzerando il recovery degli obbligazionisti).
Cosa comporterà questo per la protezione dei bondholders, si chiede Moody's ?
Semplicemente, mi verrebbe da dire, che i paduli voleranno più bassi del solito non appena ripartirà il default rate...
Moody's: Covenant-Light Bonds Enter the Deep High-Yield Space
New York, May 12, 2010 -- Recent high-yield bond issuance shows a weakening in covenant protections for investors even beyond what was seen at the peak of the market in 2006 and 2007, said Moody's Investors Service.
More of these covenant-light structures are likely despite the high leverage of many of the speculative-grade debt issuers involved and the likelihood of shareholder-friendly actions which can erode bond value over the long term, the ratings agency said.
In April of this year, high-yield issuers rated as low as B3 have introduced plain vanilla or hybrid investment-grade structures into the bond market.
These include issuers that until now have used traditional high-yield structures, which are now rated many notches below investment-grade, the report said.
"In addition, broadly speaking, new secured bonds, many in the Caa/single-B range, use collateralized structures that often give investors little added protection compared to the credit facility lenders who share the collateral," said Alexander Dill, Moody's Vice President-Senior Covenant Officer. "These trends reflect a weakening in covenant protections even below those existing at the peak of the market, in 2006 and 2007."
What does it mean for bondholder protection, now and in the long run?
Once introduced, the DNA of a structure offering operational flexibility will be replicated, said Moody's, as the 2006-2007 LBO structures used today show. Rather than tightening covenant structure, issuers will offer higher coupons.
In addition, current supply and demand also play a role, as a broad array of issuers face significant refinancing needs.
Moody's report offers some recent examples of these negative trends in covenant protection. These trends were initially identified in Moody's pre-sale "snapshots", summary analyses that highlight key features of a new bond before pricing, place them in the context of an issuer's existing bonds and other similarly-rated issuers. The report also provides Moody's opinion in terms of long-term protection of bond value.
"Nevertheless, although these trends signify a higher risk of eroding value, we believe investors have a varied portfolio of covenant structures to choose from that can offer significant protection in this respect," Dill said.
The full report, "Back to the Future? "Cov-lite" Bonds Enter the Deep High-Yield Space," is available at
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