"WHO are we?"

 The Credit Roundtable began in 2007 as a loose affiliation of investment managers interested in improving market conditions in the corporate bond market.  The investment managers included traditional asset managers, fund managers, insurance companies and pension funds. The investors worked together with the advice of counsel and in consultation with investment banks to identify bondholder protections that might be acceptable to all market participants including issuers, underwriters and investors. The result of these initial efforts was a document widely known in the institutional bond investment market as the Covenant White Paper. Following the completion and broad distribution of the Covenant White Paper, the group engaged in outreach and educational activities to familiarize market participants with the content of the Covenant White Paper, and to encourage inclusion of the recommended language in new bond indentures.  The Covenant White Paper has continued to serve as a template for acceptable covenant language, contributing to standardization and improvement of terms in bond issues.  The Credit Roundtable expects to revise and update this document as needed.

Since the creation of the Covenant White Paper, the Credit Roundtable has continued to identify and pursue initiatives focused on implementing changes to investment market practices which its investor associates believe contribute to a more equitable and efficient institutional investment market.   

More recent initiatives include the Credit Roundtable’s ongoing efforts to modify practices surrounding the corporate actions (e.g., bond tenders, exchanges, and consent solicitations) and new issuance processes in ways that improve investors' ability to sufficiently analyze the transactions under consideration.  The Credit Roundtable has identified several components of both processes that disadvantage investors, among them, the accessibility of relevant transaction information together with the limited time allotted for investor review and analysis.  For example, when considering the value of an issuer-proposed change to a bond indenture requiring investor consent, prudent investors look to the original issue documentation for comparison.  Many of these documents were filed years ago and can be difficult to locate.  Members of the Credit Roundtable have been working together with regulators and bank liability management teams to encourage the use of digital links facilitating investor review. Additionally, at the suggestion of, and with the participation of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Credit Roundtable initiated meetings with other market participants (underwriters and issuers) to identify and establish best practices for the launch and collection of investor consents.  These discussions broadened market understanding and generated substantive agreements about the minimum amount of time needed for investor review and evaluation of issuer proposed amendments.

Another ongoing initiative of the Credit Roundtable is the improvement of the New Issue Underwriting and Distribution process.  Again, membership of the Credit Roundtable is focused on enhancing the investor's opportunity to receive, review, and evaluate new issue information to better insure suitability of investments, and enhance the fairness and integrity of the process.

The Credit Roundtable members work together to educate institutional investors about developments affecting the fixed income investment markets.  The Credit Roundtable holds monthly conference calls to provide updates on its activities and to discuss issues of interest to its membership including; interesting/novel features included in recent bond issues, market conditions and constraints, as well as to provide updates on the Credit Roundtable’s activities.

The Credit Roundtable holds conferences for its members generally twice a year to educate members to on evolving market issues such as proposed legislation and changing investment management practices that have the potential to affect investors.  The Credit Roundtable organizes meetings with regulators, international investor organizations, and other non-member investment institutions.  The Credit Roundtable also meets with legislators on matters of membership interest, comments on proposed legislation, and files amicus curiae briefs in relevant litigation matters.   

Together, the Credit Roundtable members benefit from the pooling of resources and the power of speaking collectively as the organization pursues enhancements benefiting the marketplace as a whole. 

To review a membership contract or find out more, please reach out to us:

Administrative Director: Kelly Byrne Skarupa

Email: info@thecreditroundtable.org

Phone: 914-332-0042