Banking Titan Taps CLO Trailblazer: Blackstone Lures Jefferies' Laura Coady in Strategic Power Play
Market Disruptor Joins $375 Billion Credit Juggernaut Amid Record CLO Surge
Blackstone Group has recruited one of Europe's most influential CLO bankers, hiring Laura Coady from Jefferies to serve as its first-ever Global Head of Collateralized Loan Obligations. Sources familiar with the matter confirmed that Coady will join the $375.5 billion credit powerhouse later this year, operating from London while overseeing the firm's global CLO operations and European liquid credit strategies.
The strategic appointment comes during an unprecedented boom in the CLO market, with issuance volumes shattering records across both U.S. and European markets in 2025. Reporting directly to Dan Leiter, Blackstone's global head of liquidity credit strategy, Coady's arrival represents a calculated effort to consolidate the firm's cross-border CLO capabilities under singular leadership as competition for market share intensifies.
The Architect Behind Market-Defining Deals
Industry insiders describe Coady as nothing short of a transformational force in European structured credit. Her reputation was forged during her tenure at Citi, where she led European CLO primary teams to dominate league tables from 2013 to 2019, yielding the top spot only once during that seven-year reign.
Her impact at Jefferies proved even more dramatic. After joining in 2020, she engineered a remarkable ascent that saw the bank vault to second place in European issuance rankings within just 12 months. By 2023, under Coady's leadership, Jefferies commanded over 25% market share—more than double its closest competitor.
"The European CLO desk at Jefferies was essentially built in Laura's image," explained a senior credit portfolio manager who requested anonymity. "She doesn't just execute deals—she reimagines the playbook for how they should be structured, marketed, and distributed."
This market-defining influence earned Coady GlobalCapital's 2023 Outstanding Contribution Award, celebrating her decade-long impact on reshaping the European CLO landscape. Beyond transaction volumes, she has championed enhanced ESG standards, diversity initiatives, and greater transparency across the structured credit ecosystem.
Table: Overview of Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs), Bank Profit Mechanisms, and 2025 Market Conditions
| Aspect | Description |
|---|---|
| What are CLOs? | Securities backed by pools of corporate loans, divided into risk-based tranches. |
| Tranche Structure | Senior (AAA, low risk/yield), Mezzanine (medium), Equity (high risk/yield). |
| How Banks Profit | Loan origination/syndication fees, structuring/management fees, investing in tranches. |
| Typical Investors | Banks, insurance companies, pension funds, ETFs, institutional investors. |
| 2025 Market Size | Global CLO assets projected at $1.6 trillion; U.S. issuance near $200 billion. |
| Demand Drivers | High yields, floating rates, strong institutional/ETF demand, economic resilience. |
| Spreads (AAA Tranches) | SOFR +110–120 bps in early 2025. |
| Default Rate (U.S.) | Projected at 2.6% for 2025, indicating declining risk. |
| Market Trends | Record issuance, ETF growth ($20B AUM), expansion into private credit/middle-market CLOs. |
| Outlook | Continued growth, robust investor interest, manageable risk profile. |
Strategic Convergence: Why Blackstone Created a Global CLO Role
Blackstone's decision to establish a dedicated global CLO leadership position emerges amid extraordinary market conditions. U.S. managers printed 35 CLO deals in 2024—19 new issues and 16 repriced—totaling over $18 billion. European issuance has been equally robust, with middle-market CLO volumes jumping 55.8% year-over-year to €10.49 billion across 21 transactions through just the first three quarters of 2024.
"What we're witnessing isn't merely cyclical momentum—it's a structural shift," noted a credit strategist at a major European bank. "As traditional lenders retreat from certain segments, CLOs have become the essential architecture connecting institutional capital to corporate borrowers."
Blackstone's credit division has capitalized on this evolution, growing assets under management to $375.5 billion as of December 2024—a 20% year-over-year increase. The firm closed five new U.S. CLOs worth $2.5 billion in Q4 2024 alone, underscoring its commitment to capturing market share in this booming segment.
Blueprint for Global Domination: The Three-Pronged Strategy
By elevating Coady to oversee its worldwide CLO operations, Blackstone appears to be implementing a three-part strategic vision:
Harmonizing the Cross-Border Symphony
While European and U.S. CLO markets share fundamental similarities, they operate under distinct regulatory frameworks and investor preferences. A unified global approach under Coady could standardize structuring approaches, accelerate deal flow between regions, and optimize capital deployment.
"The CLO market has matured to a point where regional siloes become competitive liabilities," observed a structured credit analyst at a top-tier asset manager. "The ability to seamlessly pivot resources between markets as opportunities shift provides a substantial advantage."
Capturing the Issuance Tsunami
With global CLO issuance—including resets and primaries—projected to potentially exceed $200 billion in 2025, scale advantages become increasingly decisive. Blackstone's credit division attracted $91.2 billion in new inflows during FY 2024, establishing a formidable capital base that Coady can leverage to secure preferential economics on new issues.
Elevating Risk Management Sophistication
A consolidated CLO function enables more comprehensive oversight of warehouse exposures, concentration limits, and cross-portfolio hedging. This integration reduces operational friction and eliminates potential blind spots between previously disconnected regional desks—particularly crucial as credit fundamentals face increasing scrutiny.
Integration Hurdles: From Banking Culture to Buy-Side Discipline
Despite Coady's stellar track record, several challenges could complicate her transition:
The entrepreneurial, boutique culture at Jefferies differs markedly from Blackstone's institutional approach. Sources suggest Coady thrived in environments where execution speed trumped committee-driven processes—a potential friction point at her new firm.
Incentive structures also differ fundamentally between CLO banking and asset management. While bankers focus on tranche placement spreads and deal velocity, Blackstone's fee-and-carry economics reward long-term performance and investor retention.
"The most brilliant originators don't always translate seamlessly to the buy-side," cautioned a veteran CLO investor. "It's like asking a sprinter to become a marathon runner—the skill sets overlap but aren't identical."
Market Implications: A Forward-Looking Perspective
For professional investors monitoring Blackstone's credit strategy, Coady's appointment signals several potential developments:
The firm appears positioned to challenge for top-three global CLO arranger status by volume within 18 months, assuming market conditions remain supportive. This could translate into enhanced fee generation within Blackstone's Credit & Insurance segment.
Watch for innovation in product development, potentially including multi-tranche, ESG-branded CLOs and possibly exploration of emerging market CLO structures that leverage Coady's reputation for pioneering new approaches.
Investment Considerations Amid Shifting Tides
The current favorable funding environment for CLOs—with equity tranches delivering 8-21% returns in 2024—has created attractive entry points for strategic capital deployment. However, investors should remain vigilant about potential cyclical shifts.
If interest rates unexpectedly reverse or credit spreads widen materially, the yield backdrop could deteriorate rapidly. Coady's extensive experience navigating market volatility, particularly her expertise in reset transactions, may prove especially valuable in such scenarios.
For tactical allocators, Blackstone's reinforced CLO platform could offer enhanced liquidity and potential secondary market opportunities as deal flow accelerates under Coady's leadership. Her track record suggests a "last-in, first-out" approach that could generate alpha through aggressive positioning around market inflection points.
Disclaimer: The analysis presented reflects current market conditions and established economic indicators. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult qualified financial advisors before making investment decisions based on the information provided.