Valuations here remain attractive relative to other quality buckets: spreads for BB and B bonds are still above their long-term historical levels (according to JP Morgan data) and issuers have plenty of cash and little debt maturing in the short term.
The pattern was also clear in the new-issue market where single B clearing yields gapped out 13 bps versus those of BB loans, which remain in high demand not just from institutional loan accounts but banks and cross-over investors.
For higher credit quality issuers rated BB or higher, loan yields were effectively unchanged while single B rated borrowers paid roughly 50 bps more than they did in October.