Empirasign has added a feature to its deal-tracking technology that instantly notifies users when any tranche of a selected securitization appears on a bid list. The tool previously offered access to secondary-market activity only on a tranche-by-tranche basis. The update also includes a summary of all recent market activity for each deal on a client's "watch list." The new feature launched on May 4, with New York-based Empirasign characterizing it as a response to increased demand for timely information across all deal classes amid the coronavirus crisis. "More than any time in recent memory, people should be watching the entire capital stack," president Adam Murphy said. The notifications are delivered via Bloomberg message or email. The volume of asset- and mortgage-backed bonds available on the secondary market ballooned in March, with $12.4 billion out for bid the week of March 16, according to Empirasign. Many of the bonds didn’t trade, however, and offering volume tapered off to $2.3 billion the week of April 27.

Last week secondary CLO 2.0 flows dropped to $791 million (30% did not trade), from $1.06 billion the prior week, according to BWIC data provider Empirasign. CLO AAA to A classes tightened 10 basis points (bps).

Traders circulated a list of five mezzanine mortgage bonds tied mostly to national, extended-stay hotel chains at price talk of about 63 cents to 72 cents on the dollar, according to bond data and tracking platform Empirasign. "Price talk" only reflects what Wall Street dealers think bonds could fetch on the open market, not actual trading levels, but they are widely used as a gauge of market sentiment. Four parcels, with a combined $23.5 million face value, ended up trading hands Thursday, leaving only an $8.4 million slug of BB-rated bonds out in the cold, according to Empirasign.

"Last week, most of the lists weren’t even getting bids," said Adam Murphy, founder of Empirasign, a platform that tracks bond-trading activity. He also said that some sellers this week instead are turning to "all-or-nothing" lists. "The reason for that can be twofold," he said. "Either you get a margin call and need to liquidate multiple positions simultaneously. Or it's people trying to find a more expedient method of transacting."

Securitized credit markets have seen the highest volume ever of so-called Bids Wanted in Competition, or BWICs, for sale in the secondary market over the last two weeks, according to data from Empirasign Strategies. "We're seeing that the volumes are so high that a sizable portion of these BWICs are not even receiving bids," said Adam Murphy, founder and president of Empirasign, a firm that tracks capital markets trading. "There just seems to be a universal race for cash." This includes BWICs across ABS, CLOs, CMBS, and RMBS, Murphy told Bloomberg News. Last week saw 1,018 structured-finance BWICs up for sale, the highest number ever, according to Empirasign. Each BWIC is a bid list containing many different bonds, often from the same asset class. This week has already seen 711 BWICs attempting to trade in the secondary, "and it may be on pace to be the new No. 1," Murphy said.

According to Empirasign, bid lists containing $4.5 billion of asset- and mortgage-backed bonds hit the market during the March 9-12 span, up from $455 million the previous week.

From March 9-11, $2.1 billion of bid lists went out for offers, up from 1.5 billion for the entire preceding week and $728.5 million the week before that, according to Empirasign.

Bids on nearly $77 million of equity from five CLOs flowed in on Dec. 18 and 19, according to Empirasign.

According to Empirasign, an average of 95 bid lists totaling $1.3 billion circulated in each of the last three full weeks (excluding Thanksgiving week), with nearly 95% of those bonds changing hands.

A handful of CLO equity tranches were offered in the secondary last week, according to data from Empirasign Strategies, including a control equity piece on a 2015 vintage CLO.

CLO paper appeared on formal bid lists 131 times in the first half of the year, up from 123 times in the second half of last year and just 86 times in the 2018's first half, according to data provider Empirasign.

According to data collected by Empirasign, trading in the CLOs has been light since the REIT started having problems in late 2017.

Looking to catch a bid: Listings for CLOs with low ratings spike in 2019

Securitisation data provider Empirasign has added a new functionality which will use regulatory filings to give ABS traders a 'canary' for new issuance and repurchase events.

In all, 4.7 billion of credit-card bonds traded on the secondary market from May 13 to June 21, according to Empirasign.

Investors offered $2.6 billion of CLO paper on the secondary market during the first eight business days of the month, spreading the supply across 79 bid lists encompassing 490 positions, according to Empirasign.

According to Empirasign, the weekly average supply of formal bid lists in the sector totaled $802.7 million from Jan. 1 to Feb. 15 — versus $525.9 million for all of 2018.

One $5 million 2015 vintage BB tranche on Thursday did exchange hands in the high 80s, while two small 2018 vintage BB tranches on Friday covered in the low 88 and 89 area, but most others have traded a few points higher or failed to trade all together, according to data from Empirasign Strategies.

One $2.5 million BB tranche on a 2015 vintage CLO covered with a 90 handle on a Wednesday BWIC after it had last traded in July with talk in the 98 area, according to data from Empirasign Strategies.

Lower in the capital stack, a number of 2013-2015 vintage BB tranches that exchanged hands were covered between 675-715 bps, according to data from Empirasign Strategies.