Ford Motor's loan-only credit default swaps were active last week, trading about seven basis points tighter to the 200-210 range on Wednesday and then widening a few points on Thursday. One trader estimated it traded tighter on the back of Ford's unsecured CDS tightening the last couple of weeks. According to Markit, the CDS tightened 12 basis points to trade around 517 last week.
Ford's $11.5 billion revolver was trading at 92 1/3 last Wednesday; its $7 billion term loan was trading around 100.278-100.548 Thursday, according to Markit. The term loan has slowly risen in trading since it dipped as low as 99 7/8 toward the end of last month (CIN, 12/22).
Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan lead Ford's credit facility. In late December, Ford's LCDS tightened to 230 from 232-237 where it was trading in the middle of the month (12/22). The term loan broke Dec. 12 in the secondary market around 100 1/8-1/4 range; the LCDS was trading around 227-232 following the break (12/18).
At the beginning of last week, Ford reported its December sales totaled 233,621, down 13 percent as compared with a year ago. "They posted generally inline numbers for December," one trader said. A Ford spokeswoman declined to comment.