The Basel II/III and CRD-IV Accords reduce capital charges on bank loans to smaller firms by assuming that the default probabilities of smaller firms are less sensitive to macroeconomic cycles. We test this assumption in a default intensity framework using a large sample of bank loans to private...

The collateralized loan obligation, CLO, market withstood the recent financial crisis with minimal losses compared to other structured asset-backed securities. Furthermore, the issuance of new CLOs is now above pre-crisis levels, prompting an understanding of what drives CLO performance. A...