- Before
- “I know it’s stuck. I don’t know who it’s stuck on until I read the whole thread.”
- Now
- Starts the day with every trade’s blocker named and cited, and the chases already written for her to send.
One stuck trade, from T+23 to a settlement date
Ashgrove Bank sold $25,000,000 of the Corvane Packaging Term Loan B to Alderbrook CLO 2024-1 at 99.375 on Wed 9 Sep. It is Tue 13 Oct — T+23 — and Corvane has not answered the consent request. Here is what happens next, screen by screen, in the working solution.
- 01Morning
Every open trade, and who it waits on
Nina Castellano · Loan settlement analystNina opens the pipeline: 42 open trades, $262.5M par, in six columns from Trade confirmed to Settled. Each column shows its median age and an aging bar; each trade shows its T+ age, the blocker in one line, a tag for who holds it — Us, Counterparty, Agent or Borrower — and its delayed comp per day. The rail adds it up: we pay $10,510 a day, we receive $3,512.
Who we are waiting on: Counterparty 22 · Agent 9 · Borrower 6 · Us 5.
- 02One click
“Read 46 new messages” — and Corvane lifts out
Mail and notice reader · Blocker finder37 emails in the settlement mailbox and 9 agent notices since 18:40 yesterday — 41 matched to 19 trades. The agents read the settlement platform status, the notices from Tidewater, Ridgeway and Bellhaven, and the transfer clause of each of the six trades waiting on borrower consent. Then the Corvane card at T+23 lifts out of its column: Corvane received the consent request on Wed 30 Sep, and under §10.06(b) it is deemed to consent 10 business days later unless it objects — end of Thu 15 Oct. There is no objection in Tidewater’s notices or the mail.
“Consent deemed given in 2 days — notify counterparty.” Delayed comp saved: $23,581.
- 03See the evidence
Where the days went
Nina Castellano · Loan settlement analystThe trade page lays every step on a T+ timeline: confirmed on the platform, assignment and pricing letter signed T+3, Tidewater’s transfer review, the expired W-8BEN-E that Alderbrook resent at T+13, and Corvane silent since the request. T+7, when delayed comp started, and today are marked; the deemed date and Fri 16 Oct settlement are drawn dashed, as projections.
- 04Cited
What is holding it, with the proof
Blocker finderThree quotes, each with its source: Tidewater’s notice that the request was delivered to Gil Marchetti, Treasurer, on Wed 30 Sep; the clause itself; and this morning’s Tidewater report — “Pending borrower consent.” No objection recorded. A ten-box clock shows business days 1–8 gone, with Columbus Day not counted.
Corvane can still object until close of business Thu 15 Oct; the reader checks Tidewater’s notices every 30 minutes until then.
- 05Open §10.06
The credit agreement, read for a way through
Blocker finderSection 10.06 of the Corvane credit agreement, page 142 of 196, with the margin notes the agent wrote: why the borrower must consent at all (Alderbrook CLO 2024-1 is not a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender or an Approved Fund), the $1,000,000 minimum, the four disqualified lenders on Schedule 10.06 — Alderbrook is not one — and the New York Business Day.
- 06Worked out
What waiting costs
Delayed comp calculatorWe owe Alderbrook $53,593 so far: interest on $25,000,000 at 7.37% (S+325), less carry on $24,843,750 at 4.31% — $2,144 a calendar day since Fri 18 Sep. Settle Fri 16 Oct on deemed consent and it stops at $60,024. Wait for a written reply — the median of the last 11 silent borrowers, Tue 27 Oct, T+33 — and it reaches $83,605.
“Settling on deemed consent saves $23,581 and 8 business days of risk on a $25M position.”
- 07Drafted
The notice, written and ready to send
Chase writerTo Rhea Lindqvist at Alderbrook, copy Hana Sato at Tidewater: the trade, the date the request was delivered, the clause and the date the period ends. Hana is asked to confirm no objection and schedule the trade for the Fri 16 Oct close list; Rhea to have funds ready. Tidewater’s notice of 30 Sep and §10.06(b) are attached.
“Drafted by the chase writer from Tidewater’s notice of 30 Sep and §10.06(b) of the credit agreement. Edit anything before you send.”
- 08Sent
A settlement date, and the card turns
Nina Castellano · Loan settlement analystNina sends it. The callout changes to “Counterparty notified — settles Fri 16 Oct”, a planned card appears in Settled at T+26 on deemed consent, and delayed comp stops at $60,024 instead of $83,605.
- 09Next
Eight more chases, each to the person who holds the trade
Nina Castellano · Loan settlement analystHollins Bay needs a current W-8BEN-E for Tidewater; Castlebar owes Bellhaven a beneficial-owner form; Tidewater has had Solway for 13 days against its median of 9; Bellhaven lost an assignment, resubmitted at T+18, and is asked to confirm receipt. Each draft says why now and carries its proof. Nina edits, sends or skips each one.
“You send every chase; a message to a borrower also needs the desk head.”
- 10Every month
Why the desk pays delayed comp — in one report
Marcus Hale · Head of loan settlement operationsFrom April to September the desk’s median fell from T+14 to T+11, trades settled inside T+7 rose from 21% to 34%, and delayed comp paid fell from $412,300 to $297,400 a month. In September, KYC and tax forms caused 34% of the late days, unsigned or wrong documents 24% and borrower consent 21%.
“6 trades settled on deemed consent in September, a median of 7 business days sooner than a written reply.”