Forum Spotlight: Investment-Grade Bondholders
November 20, 2023
Together, Richard, Rajesh, and Jane form the “Leadership Working Group” for the IG Bondholders Forums. This group sets the agendas and priorities for the Forum, as well as represents investors on CREFC’s Policy Committee.
Key Investment-Grade Bondholders Focus Areas:
- CRE CLO Surveillance template is being developed to provide standardized information to investors in a usable Excel-based format.
- Dialogue with stakeholders of the forum (IG investors) to understand their concerns and identify solutions.
- Work on improving reporting in Conduit and SASB transactions as the buy-side looks for standardized financials from borrowers and better disclosure from servicers with regard to loan modifications and fees.
- Leadership is concerned with loan extension risk as a result of higher interest rates; as a result, corporate single-A rated bonds continue to outperform AAA-rated CMBS.
- In the floating rate market, the replacement of SOFR caps upon expiration is an important topic, especially as loans lack the ability to cover debt service in the current interest rate environment. We continue to focus efforts on disclosure improvements and updating the IRP for these items.
- Transaction volumes are down considerably leading to decade low volume in the Conduit/SASB markets.
Looking ahead, leaders are focused on working with servicers to improve reporting accuracy and timeliness. Rising insurance costs in coastal markets put added stress on landlords.
Key Policy Issues:
- SEC’s Conflict of Interest in Securitization Proposal: The definitions are broadly written and could engulf numerous CMBS participants and a broad range of “conflicted activities” that go beyond shorting a transaction. CREFC submitted two comment letters on the issue and is engaging with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
- 15c2-11 Public Disclosure of 144A Bond: The SEC recently issued an order exempting 144A fixed-income securities from 15c2-11 disclosure. CREFC and its members urged the SEC and Congress to take action to prevent the application of 15c2-11 to fixed income securities. The exemption order is a major win for the industry.
What’s next? Forum leaders look forward to presenting CREFC members with an update on their forum at the Annual January Conference in Miami. Soon after, the chairs will seek nominations for the next Chair-Elect to join their leadership slate.
To join the IG Bondholders Forum, please register here. For any forum related questions, please contact Kathleen Olin at kolin@crefc.org