This smells of what happened just prior to the 2008 global economic recession.

Issuance of new collateralized loan obligations, which buy up loans to companies with junk credit ratings and package them into securities, totaled over $59 billion as of May 20, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence’s’ LCD. That is the highest ever figure for that period in data going back to 2005.

The prospect of rising inflation and a shift away from the Federal Reserve’s easy money policies are making bonds tied to so-called CLOs attractive to a wider range of investors, analysts said. Many are expecting strong growth to prompt Fed tightening, eroding returns on corporate bonds. Yields on CLO bonds typically rise with interest rates.

Wall Street Journal

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