BlackRock Income Trust, Inc.

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT

INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number 811-05542

Name of Fund:  BlackRock Income Trust, Inc. (BKT)

Fund Address:    100 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, DE 19809

Name and address of agent for service: John M. Perlowski, Chief Executive Officer, BlackRock Income

              Trust, Inc., 55 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10055

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (800) 882-0052, Option 4

Date of fiscal year end: 12/31/2018

Date of reporting period: 12/31/2018


Item 1 – Report to Stockholders


DECEMBER 31, 2018

 

ANNUAL REPORT

  LOGO

 

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust (BGIO)

BlackRock Income Trust, Inc. (BKT)

 

 

 

Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of each Trust’s shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports from BlackRock or from your financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer or bank. Instead, the reports will be made available on a website, and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.

You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge. If you hold accounts directly with BlackRock, you can call Computershare at 1-800-699-1236 to request that you continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports. If you hold accounts through a financial intermediary, you can follow the instructions included with this disclosure, if applicable, or contact your financial intermediary to request that you continue to receive paper copies of your shareholder reports. Please note that not all financial intermediaries may offer this service. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds advised by BlackRock Advisors, LLC or its affiliates, or all funds held with your financial intermediary, as applicable.

If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. You may elect to receive electronic delivery of shareholder reports and other communications by contacting your financial intermediary, if you hold accounts through a financial intermediary. Please note that not all financial intermediaries may offer this service.

 

Not FDIC Insured • May Lose Value • No Bank Guarantee


The Markets in Review

Dear Shareholder,

In the 12 months ended December 31, 2018, concerns about a variety of political risks and a modest slowdown in global growth worked against the equity market despite solid corporate earnings, while rising interest rates constrained bond returns. Though the market’s appetite for risk remained healthy for most of the reporting period, risk-taking declined sharply later in the reporting period. As a result, bonds held their value better than stocks, which posted negative returns across the globe. Shorter-term, higher-quality securities led the bond market, and U.S. equities outperformed most international stock markets.

Volatility rose in emerging market stocks, as the rising U.S. dollar and higher interest rates in the U.S. disrupted economic growth abroad. U.S.-China trade relations and debt concerns adversely affected the Chinese stock market, while Turkey and Argentina became embroiled in currency crises, largely due to hyperinflation in both countries. An economic slowdown in Europe also led to negative performance for European equities.

In fixed income markets, short-term U.S. Treasury interest rates rose the fastest, while longer-term rates slightly increased. This led to a negative return for long-term U.S. Treasuries and a substantial flattening of the yield curve. Many investors are concerned with the flattening yield curve as a harbinger of recession. However, given the extraordinary monetary measures in the last decade, we believe a more accurate barometer for the economy is the returns along the risk spectrums in stock and bond markets. Although the fundamentals in credit markets remained relatively solid, investment-grade bonds posted flat returns, and high-yield bonds declined slightly. Recent sell-offs in risk assets have flattened asset returns along the risk spectrum somewhat, which bears further scrutiny in the months ahead.

In response to rising growth and inflation, the U.S. Federal Reserve (the “Fed”) increased short-term interest rates four times during the reporting period. The Fed also continued to reduce its balance sheet, gradually reversing the unprecedented stimulus measures it enacted after the financial crisis. By our estimation, the Fed’s neutral interest rate, or the theoretical rate that is neither stimulative nor restrictive to the economy, is approximately 3.0%. With that perspective, the Fed’s current policy is still mildly stimulative to the U.S. economy, which leaves room for further Fed rate hikes to arrive at monetary policy that is a neutral factor for economic growth.

Volatility in the U.S. equity market spiked in October, as a wide range of risks were brought to bear on markets, ranging from rising interest rates and slowing global growth to heightened trade tensions and political turmoil in several countries, including the United States. This was accompanied by a broad based risk-off in December — which was the worst December performance on record since 1931. Although fears of recession drove equity volatility higher at the end of 2018, we continue to believe the probability of recession in 2019 remains relatively low.

Economic growth and global earnings are likely to slow somewhat in 2019 — the tax cut stimulus will be less pronounced, and the Fed’s rate hikes in 2018 will gain traction in 2019. Trade frictions look more baked into asset prices than a year ago, but markets may be overlooking European political risks. Consequently, we are cautious on European equities, as European unity remains tenuous with a history of flare-ups. We continue to prefer to take risk in U.S. and emerging market equities. Within U.S. equities, we believe that companies with high-quality earnings and strong balance sheets offer the most attractive risk/reward trade-off. Going into 2019, we also favor short-term bonds over long-term bonds because they offer nearly equivalent yields with far lower volatility.

In this environment, investors need to think globally, extend their scope across a broad array of asset classes, and be nimble as market conditions change. We encourage you to talk with your financial advisor and visit blackrock.com for further insight about investing in today’s markets.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

Rob Kapito

President, BlackRock Advisors, LLC

LOGO

Rob Kapito

President, BlackRock Advisors, LLC

 

Total Returns as of December 31, 2018
     6-month   12-month

U.S. large cap equities
(S&P 500® Index)

  (6.85)%   (4.38)%

U.S. small cap equities
(Russell 2000® Index)

  (17.35)   (11.01)

International equities
(MSCI Europe, Australasia,
Far East Index)

  (11.35)   (13.79)

Emerging market equities
(MSCI Emerging Markets Index)

  (8.48)   (14.57)

3-month Treasury bills
(ICE BofAML 3-Month
U.S. Treasury Bill Index)

  1.06   1.87

U.S. Treasury securities
(ICE BofAML 10-Year
U.S. Treasury Index)

  2.72   (0.03)

U.S. investment grade bonds
(Bloomberg Barclays U.S.
Aggregate Bond Index)

  1.65   0.01

Tax-exempt municipal bonds
(S&P Municipal Bond Index)

  1.38   1.36

U.S. high yield bonds
(Bloomberg Barclays
U.S. Corporate High Yield
2% Issuer Capped Index)

  (2.24)   (2.08)
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Index performance is shown for illustrative purposes only. You cannot invest directly in an index.
 

 

 

2    THIS PAGE IS NOT PART OF YOUR FUND REPORT


Section 19(a) Notices

 

BlackRock Income Trust, Inc.’s (BKT) (the “Trust”), amounts and sources of distributions reported are estimates and are being provided to you pursuant to regulatory requirements and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Trust’s investment experience during its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Trust will provide a Form 1099-DIV each calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

December 31, 2018

 

     Total Fiscal Year to Date
Cumulative Distributions by Character
    % of Fiscal Year to Date
Cumulative Distributions by Character
 
     Net
Investment
Income
    Net Realized
Capital Gains
Short Term
    Net Realized
Capital Gains
Long Term
    Return of
Capital
    Total Per
Common
Share
    Net
Investment
Income
    Net Realized
Capital Gains
Short Term
    Net Realized
Capital Gains
Long Term
    Return of
Capital
    Total Per
Common
Share
 

BKT

  $ 0.100232     $     $     $ 0.071768     $ 0.172000       58             42     100

The Trust estimates that it has distributed more than the amount of earned income and net realized gains; therefore, a portion of the distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the shareholder's investment in the Trust is returned to the shareholder. A return of capital does not necessarily reflect the Trust's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income". When distributions exceed total return performance, the difference will incrementally reduce the Trust's net asset value per share.

Section 19(a) notices for the Trust, as applicable, are available on the BlackRock website http://www.blackrock.com.

Managed Distribution Plan

On July 24, 2018, BKT, with the approval of BKT’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), adopted a plan, consistent with its investment objective and policies, to support a level distribution of income, capital gains and/or return of capital (the “Plan”). In accordance with the Plan, BKT distributes the following fixed amounts per share on a monthly basis beginning August 2018:

 

     Amount Per
Common Share
 

BKT

  $ 0.0344  

The fixed amount distributed per share is subject to change at the discretion of the Board. Under its Plan, BKT will distribute all available investment income to its shareholders, consistent with its investment objective and as required by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). If sufficient investment income is not available on a monthly basis, BKT will distribute long-term capital gains and/or return of capital to shareholders in order to maintain a level distribution. BKT expects that distributions under the Plan will exceed current income and capital gains and therefore will likely include a return of capital. Each monthly distribution to shareholders is expected to be at the fixed amount established by the Board. However, BKT may make additional distributions from time to time, including additional capital gain distributions at the end of the taxable year, if required to meet requirements imposed by the Code and/or the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”).

Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about BKT’s investment performance from the amount of these distributions or from the terms of the Plan. BKT’s total return performance on net asset value is presented in its financial highlights table. The Board may amend, suspend or terminate the Plan at any time without prior notice to BKT’s shareholders if it deems such actions to be in the best interests of BKT or its shareholders. The suspension or termination of the Plan could have the effect of creating a trading discount (if BKT’s stock is trading at or above net asset value) or widening an existing trading discount. BKT is subject to risks that could have an adverse impact on its ability to maintain level distributions. Examples of potential risks include, but are not limited to, economic downturns impacting the markets, changes in interest rates, decreased market volatility, companies suspending or decreasing corporate dividend distributions and changes in the Code.

 

 

SECTION 19(A) NOTICES / SECTION 19(B) DISCLOSURE      3  


Table of Contents

 

      Page  

The Markets in Review

     2  

Section 19(a) Notices

     3  

Annual Report:

  

Trust Summaries

     5  

The Benefits and Risks of Leveraging

     11  

Derivative Financial Instruments

     11  

Financial Statements:

  

Schedules of Investments

     12  

Statements of Assets and Liabilities

     31  

Statements of Operations

     32  

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

     33  

Statements of Cash Flows

     35  

Financial Highlights

     37  

Notes to Financial Statements

     39  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     52  

Important Tax Information

     52  

Automatic Dividend Reinvestment Plan

     53  

Trustee and Officer Information

     54  

Additional Information

     57  

Glossary of Terms Used in this Report

     59  

 

 

4        


Trust Summary  as of December 31, 2018    BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

 

Investment Objective

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust’s (BGIO) (the “Trust”) investment objective is to seek to distribute a high level of current income and to earn a total return, based on the net asset value of the Trust’s common shares of beneficial interest, that exceeds the return on the Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index by 500 basis points (or 5.00%) on an annualized basis over the life of the Trust, under normal market conditions. The Trust will terminate on or about February 28, 2022.

No assurance can be given that the Trust’s investment objective will be achieved. Risks relating to the Trust’s investment objective are described in further detail in the Notes to Financial Statements.

Trust Information

 

Symbol on New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”)

  BGIO

Initial Offering Date

  February 27, 2017

Termination Date (on or about)

  February 28, 2022

Current Distribution Rate on Closing Market Price as of December 31, 2018 ($8.32)(a)

  7.21%

Current Monthly Distribution per Common Share(b)

  $0.0500

Current Annualized Distribution per Common Share(b)

  $0.6000

Economic Leverage as of December 31, 2018(c)

  20%

 

  (a) 

Current Distribution Rate on closing market price is calculated by dividing the current annualized distribution per share by the closing market price. The current distribution rate consists of income, net realized gains and/or a return of capital. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

 
  (b) 

The distribution rate is not constant and is subject to change. A portion of the distribution may be deemed a return of capital or net realized gain.

 
  (c)

Represents reverse repurchase agreements as a percentage of total managed assets, which is the total assets of the Trust, including any assets attributable to reverse repurchase agreements, minus the sum of liabilities (other than borrowings representing financial leverage). For a discussion of leveraging techniques utilized by the Trust, please see The Benefits and Risks of Leveraging on page 11.

 

Market Price and Net Asset Value Per Share Summary

 

     12/31/18     12/31/17      Change      High      Low  

Market Price

  $ 8.32     $ 9.80        (15.10 )%     $ 9.94      $ 7.66  

Net Asset Value

    8.96       9.99        (10.31      10.12        8.95  

Market Price and Net Asset Value History Since Inception

 

LOGO

 

(a) 

Commencement of operations.

 

 

TRUST SUMMARY      5  


Trust Summary  as of December 31, 2018 (continued)    BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

 

Performance and Portfolio Management Commentary

Returns for the year ended December 31, 2018 were as follows:

 

     Average Annual Total Returns  
      1 Year      Since Inception (a)  

Trust at NAV(b)(c)

     (4.11 )%       1.34

Trust at Market Price(b)(c)

     (9.24      (3.46

Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index(d)

     1.82        1.39  

 

  (a) 

The Trust commenced operations on February 27, 2017.

 
  (b) 

All returns reflect reinvestment of dividends and/or distributions at actual reinvestment prices. Performance results reflect the Trust’s use of leverage.

 
  (c) 

The Trust’s discount to NAV widened during the period, which accounts for the difference between performance based on market price and performance based on NAV.

 
  (d) 

An unmanaged index that tracks the market for treasury bills used by the U.S. government that have a maturity of more than 1 month and less than 3 months, are rated investment grade and have a minimum $300 million par amount outstanding.

 

Performance results may include adjustments made for financial reporting purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Past performance is not indicative of future results.

The Trust’s investment objective is, in part, to earn a total return that exceeds the return on the Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index (the “Index”) by 500 basis points (or 5.00%) on an annualized basis over the life of the Trust, under normal market conditions. The Trust’s investment policies do not contemplate any meaningful amount of investment in securities that comprise the Index under normal market conditions; rather, the Trust uses the Index as a proxy for a risk-free rate of return that its investment objective seeks to exceed. Because the achievement of the Trust’s investment objective is measured on an annualized basis over the life of the Trust, the Trust’s performance may be more or less than the spread over the Index contained in the Trust’s investment objective during individual annual periods or for any period of time shorter than the life of the Trust. The Board considers certain factors to evaluate the Trust’s performance, such as the performance of the Trust relative to its investment objective and/or other information provided by BlackRock Advisors, LLC (the “Manager”).

More information about the Trust’s historical performance can be found in the “Closed End Funds” section of http://www.blackrock.com.

The following discussion relates to the Trust’s absolute performance based on NAV:

What factors influenced performance?

The Trust’s exposure to emerging markets detracted from performance as the sector came under pressure in the second quarter. In addition, exposure to investment grade and high yield corporate bonds weighed on return. The Trust’s allocation to collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”) also detracted from performance as the broader credit markets came under significant pressure in the last month of 2018.

The Trust’s shorting of Treasury futures was one of the largest contributors to performance, as interest rates moved higher in 2018. In addition, the Trust’s exposure to securitized assets added to absolute return, most notably non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) and commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”). An allocation to floating rate loan interests (“bank loans”) was a positive contributor as well.

The Trust used Treasury futures during the period to manage duration (sensitivity to changing interest rate levels) and yield curve exposure. The use of derivatives had a positive impact on performance.

Describe recent portfolio activity.

Entering 2018, the Trust was positioned with varied exposure to securitized assets, emerging markets and corporate bonds. The investment adviser’s view was that volatility could increase as central banks continued to reduce monetary policy accommodation and global growth began to slow. The investment adviser maintained the view that demand for income would remain robust, driven by low interest rates, aging populations and accommodative central banks.

During the first half of the year the Trust’s exposure to investment grade corporates, high yield corporates and emerging markets was decreased. In addition, exposure to CLOs was trimmed as volatility increased, interest rates moved higher and credit spreads widened. As interest rates moved higher, the Trust sought to maintain a high level of yield with lower risk. In this vein, the investment adviser favored shorter maturities as yield curves flattened, allowing the Trust to generate attractive income while assuming less interest rate risk.

Coming into the third quarter of the year, the Trust increased allocations to U.S. duration, in particular on the front end of the yield curve given the attractive risk versus reward profile relative to longer-dated Treasuries. The Trust also increased allocations to short-dated European credit. Additionally, the Trust educed exposure to emerging markets on the view that higher interest rates, a stronger U.S. dollar and increased market volatility could weigh on the sector over the near term. As the fourth quarter progressed, the Trust decreased its allocation to bank loans, helping to reduce the impact of the December selloff in credit markets. The Trust also marginally increased emerging market exposure.

 

 

6    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Trust Summary  as of December 31, 2018 (continued)    BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

 

Describe portfolio positioning at period end.

At the end of the period, the Trust maintained varied exposure across non-government sectors, including emerging markets, securitized assets, bank loans and high yield bonds. It had a small allocation to U.S. Treasuries for liquidity purposes. The Trust continued to favor emerging markets with a focus on U.S. dollar-denominated securities, based on healthy fundamentals, positive global growth and more attractive valuations following the category’s underperformance in the first half of 2018. The Trust maintained a core position in securitized assets, including CMBS, non-agency RMBS, and CLOs.

The views expressed reflect the opinions of BlackRock as of the date of this report and are subject to change based on changes in market, economic or other conditions. These views are not intended to be a forecast of future events and are no guarantee of future results.

Overview of the Trust’s Total Investments

 

PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION

 

Asset Type   12/31/18     12/31/17  

Corporate Bonds

    50     47

Asset-Backed Securities

    19       19  

Non-Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities

    15       11  

Floating Rate Loan Interests

    7       2  

Foreign Agency Obligations

    4       14  

Capital Trusts

    3       (a)  

Short-Term Securities

    1       2  

U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities

    1       6  

Options Purchased

    (a)        

TBA Sale Commitments

          (1

 

  (a) 

Representing less than 1% of the Trust’s total investments.

 

CREDIT QUALITY ALLOCATION (b)(c)

 

Credit Rating   12/31/18     12/31/17  

AAA/Aaa(d)

    2     5

AA/Aa

          1  

A

    3       3  

BBB/Baa

    18       21  

BB/Ba

    26       23  

B

    24       25  

CCC/Caa

    4       4  

CC

    5        

C

          2  

D

          1  

N/R

    18       15  

 

  (b) 

For financial reporting purposes, credit quality ratings shown above reflect the highest rating assigned by either Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) or Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) if ratings differ. These rating agencies are independent, nationally recognized statistical rating organizations and are widely used. Investment grade ratings are credit ratings of BBB/Baa or higher. Below investment grade ratings are credit ratings of BB/Ba or lower. Investments designated N/R are not rated by either rating agency. Unrated investments do not necessarily indicate low credit quality. Credit quality ratings are subject to change.

 
  (c) 

Excludes Short-Term Securities and To-be-announced (“TBA”) Sale Commitments.

 
  (d) 

The investment adviser evaluates the credit quality of not-rated investments based upon certain factors including, but not limited to, credit ratings for similar investments and financial analysis of sectors, individual investments and/or issuer. Using this approach, the investment adviser has deemed U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities and U.S. Treasury Obligations as AAA/Aaa.

 
 

 

 

TRUST SUMMARY      7  


Trust Summary  as of December 31, 2018 (continued)    BlackRock Income Trust, Inc.

 

Trust Overview

BlackRock Income Trust, Inc.’s (BKT) (the “Trust”) investment objective is to manage a portfolio of high-quality securities to achieve both preservation of capital and high monthly income. The Trust seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 65% of its assets in mortgage-backed securities. The Trust invests at least 80% of its assets in securities that are (i) issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or one of its agencies or instrumentalities or (ii) rated at the time of investment either AAA by S&P or Aaa by Moody’s. The Trust may invest directly in such securities or synthetically through the use of derivatives.

No assurance can be given that the Trust’s investment objective will be achieved.

On July 24, 2018, the Board of Trustees approved a proposal, effective December 31, 2018, to change the Trust’s fiscal year end from August 31 to December 31.

Trust Information

 

Symbol on NYSE

  BKT

Initial Offering Date

  July 22, 1988

Current Distribution Rate on Closing Market Price as of December 31, 2018 ($5.64)(a)

  7.32%

Current Monthly Distribution per Common Share(b)

  $0.0344

Current Annualized Distribution per Common Share(b)

  $0.4128

Economic Leverage as of December 31, 2018(c)

  32%

 

  (a) 

Current distribution rate on closing market price is calculated by dividing the current annualized distribution per share by the closing market price. The current distribution rate may consist of income, net realized gains and/or a tax return of capital. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

 
  (b)

The distribution rate is not constant and is subject to change. A portion of the distribution may be deemed a return of capital or net realized gain.

 
  (c) 

Represents reverse repurchase agreements outstanding as a percentage of total managed assets, which is the total assets of the Trust (including any assets attributable to borrowings) minus the sum of liabilities (other than borrowings representing financial leverage). For a discussion of leveraging techniques utilized by the Trust, please see the Benefits and Risks of Leveraging on page 11.

 

Market Price and Net Asset Value Per Share Summary

 

     12/31/18     12/31/17      Change      High      Low  

Market Price

  $ 5.64     $ 6.17        (8.59 )%     $ 6.19      $ 5.55  

Net Asset Value

    6.25       6.67        (4.87      6.57        6.14  

Market Price and Net Asset Value History For the Past Five Years

 

LOGO

 

 

8    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Trust Summary  as of December 31, 2018 (continued)    BlackRock Income Trust, Inc.

 

Performance and Portfolio Management Commentary

Returns for the period ended December 31, 2018 were as follows:

 

          Average Annual Total Returns  
            1 Year     3 Years     5 Years  

Trust at NAV(a)(b)

      1.32     1.97     2.88

Trust at Market Price(a)(b)

      (2.65     1.34       2.99  

FTSE Mortgage Index(c)

            1.01       1.69       3.11  

 

  (a) 

All returns reflect reinvestment of dividends and/or distributions at actual reinvestment prices. Performance results reflect the Trust’s use of leverage.

 
  (b) 

The Trust’s discount to NAV widened during the period, which accounts for the difference between performance based on market price and performance based on NAV.

 
  (c) 

This unmanaged index (formerly known as Citigroup Mortgage Index) (the “Reference Benchmark”) includes all outstanding government sponsored fixed rate mortgage-backed securities, weighted in proportion to their current market capitalization.

 

Performance results may include adjustments made for financial reporting purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Past performance is not indicative of future results.

BKT is presenting the Reference Benchmark to accompany Trust performance. The Reference Benchmark is presented for informational purposes only, as the Trust is actively managed and does not seek to track or replicate the performance of the Reference Benchmark or any other index. The portfolio investments of the Trust may differ substantially from the securities that comprise the indices within the Reference Benchmark, which may cause the Trust’s performance to differ materially from that of the Reference Benchmark. The Trust employs leverage as part of its investment strategy, which may change over time at the discretion of the Manager as market and other conditions warrant. In contrast, the Reference Benchmark is not adjusted for leverage. Therefore, leverage generally may result in the Trust outperforming the Reference Benchmark in rising markets and underperforming in declining markets. The Board considers additional factors to evaluate the Trust’s performance, such as the performance of the Trust relative to a peer group of funds, a leverage-adjusted benchmark and/or other information provided by the Manager.

More information about the Trust’s historical performance can be found in the “Closed End Funds” section of http://www.blackrock.com.

The following discussion relates to the Trust’s absolute performance based on NAV:

What factors influenced performance?

The largest contributors to performance included allocations to agency collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”), an underweight to 30-year agency mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”), the Trust’s duration (sensitivity to interest rate changes) and yield curve positioning, allocations to commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”), swap- and swaption-based strategies, an underweight to 15-year agency MBS, and allocations to U.S. agency securities.

Allocations to securitized sectors including CMBS, agency CMOs and senior floating rate collateralized loan obligations also contributed positively. These segments continued to benefit from favorable fundamentals around the U.S. consumer, housing and commercial real estate.

Detractors from returns included selection-based strategies within 30-year agency MBS, driven by the underperformance of the Trust’s specified pool holdings. Allocations to agency mortgage derivatives (interest-only and principal-only) also detracted from performance.

The Trust held derivatives during the period as a part of its investment strategy, and will have derivative exposure of more than 20% at certain times. Derivatives are utilized by the Trust in order to manage and/or take outright views on interest rates and/or credit risk positions in the portfolio. In particular, the portfolio employed U.S. Treasury futures to express duration (i.e., sensitivity to interest rate changes) bias and yield curve bias. The Trust also tactically allocated to mortgage derivatives in order to gain specific market exposure when relative value opportunities present themselves. The Trust’s positions in derivative securities had a negative effect on performance during the period.

Describe recent portfolio activity.

The Trust increased its allocation to agency MBS during the period, slightly reducing exposures to agency pass-throughs, while adding positions in agency CMOs. Exposures to securitized assets such as CMBS and non-agency residential MBS were nearly unchanged during the period.

Describe portfolio positioning at period end.

The Trust entered 2019 with a neutral stance regarding agency MBS at current levels, owing to valuations that the investment adviser view as less compelling relative to the widening that has occurred in comparable high quality fixed income spread sectors. The portfolio continued to be positioned long convexity (the rate at which duration changes in response to interest rate movements) relative to the benchmark, favoring specified pool positions or through structure via the CMO market. The investment adviser believes that adding less negatively convex exposures should help performance against any uptick in volatility and against a possible “to-be-announced” (contracts to purchase or sell MBS on a specified date) deliverable, which the investment adviser feels will continue to be impacted by the Fed’s gradual departure from the agency MBS market. The Trust held positions in specified pools, with a preference for low loan balance stories where the maximum loan amount supporting each pool is capped along with seasoning where available, particularly within higher coupon securities. In addition, the Trust continued to be overweight in well-structured agency CMOs backed by call protected and seasoned collateral, and demonstrating more favorable prepayment characteristics that help to benefit the overall convexity profile of the Trust relative to its benchmark. The Trust held marginal positions in securitized assets such as legacy non-agency residential MBS and CMBS, preferring instead to isolate prepayment and structural characteristics in higher quality agency-backed assets rather than credit exposures. If credit spreads were to widen from current valuations, the investment adviser may consider reallocating into these sectors.

The views expressed reflect the opinions of BlackRock as of the date of this report and are subject to change based on changes in market, economic or other conditions. These views are not intended to be a forecast of future events and are no guarantee of future results.

 

 

TRUST SUMMARY      9  


Trust Summary  as of December 31, 2018 (continued)    BlackRock Income Trust, Inc.

 

Overview of the Trust’s Total Investments

 

PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION

 

     12/31/18     08/31/18  

U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities

    111     108

Non-Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities

    3       (a)  

Short-Term Securities

    1       3  

Asset-Backed Securities(a)

           

U.S. Treasury Obligations

          1  

Borrowed Bonds(a)

           

TBA Sale Commitments

    (15     (12

 

  (a) 

Representing less than 1% of the Trust’s total investments.

 

CREDIT QUALITY ALLOCATION (b)(c)

 

     12/31/18     08/31/18  

AAA/Aaa(d)

    98     99

BBB

    2       1  

 

  (b) 

For financial reporting purposes, credit quality ratings shown above reflect the highest rating assigned by either S&P or Moody’s if ratings differ. These rating agencies are independent, nationally recognized statistical rating organizations and are widely used. Investment grade ratings are credit ratings of BBB/Baa or higher. Below investment grade ratings are credit ratings of BB/Ba or lower. Investments designated N/R are not rated by either rating agency. Unrated investments do not necessarily indicate low credit quality. Credit quality ratings are subject to change.

 
  (c) 

Excludes Money Market Funds.

 
  (d) 

The investment adviser evaluates the credit quality of not-rated investments based upon certain factors including, but not limited to, credit ratings for similar investments and financial analysis of sectors and individual investments. Using this approach, the investment adviser has deemed U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities and U.S. Treasury Obligations as AAA/Aaa.

 
 

 

 

10    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


The Benefits and Risks of Leveraging

 

The Trusts may utilize leverage to seek to enhance the distribution rate on, and net asset value (“NAV”) of, their common shares (“Common Shares”). However, there is no guarantee that these objectives can be achieved in all interest rate environments.

In general, the concept of leveraging is based on the premise that the financing cost of leverage, which is based on short-term interest rates, is normally lower than the income earned by a Trust on its longer-term portfolio investments purchased with the proceeds from leverage. To the extent that the total assets of the Trusts (including the assets obtained from leverage) are invested in higher-yielding portfolio investments, the Trusts’ shareholders benefit from the incremental net income. The interest earned on securities purchased with the proceeds from leverage is paid to shareholders in the form of dividends, and the value of these portfolio holdings is reflected in the per share NAV.

To illustrate these concepts, assume a Trust’s capitalization is $100 million and it utilizes leverage for an additional $30 million, creating a total value of $130 million available for investment in longer-term income securities. If prevailing short-term interest rates are 3% and longer-term interest rates are 6%, the yield curve has a strongly positive slope. In this case, a Trust’s financing costs on the $30 million of proceeds obtained from leverage are based on the lower short-term interest rates. At the same time, the securities purchased by a Trust with the proceeds from leverage earn income based on longer-term interest rates. In this case, a Trust’s financing cost of leverage is significantly lower than the income earned on a Trust’s longer-term investments acquired from such leverage proceeds, and therefore the holders of Common Shares (“Common Shareholders”) are the beneficiaries of the incremental net income.

However, in order to benefit shareholders, the return on assets purchased with leverage proceeds must exceed the ongoing costs associated with the leverage. If interest and other costs of leverage exceed the Trusts’ return on assets purchased with leverage proceeds, income to shareholders is lower than if the Trusts had not used leverage. Furthermore, the value of the Trusts’ portfolio investments generally varies inversely with the direction of long-term interest rates, although other factors can influence the value of portfolio investments. In contrast, the value of the Trusts’ obligations under its leverage arrangement generally does not fluctuate in relation to interest rates. As a result, changes in interest rates can influence the Trusts’ NAVs positively or negatively. Changes in the future direction of interest rates are very difficult to predict accurately, and there is no assurance that the Trusts’ intended leveraging strategy will be successful.

The use of leverage also generally causes greater changes in each Trust’s NAV, market price and dividend rates than comparable portfolios without leverage. In a declining market, leverage is likely to cause a greater decline in the NAV and market price of a Trust’s shares than if the Trust were not leveraged. In addition, each Trust may be required to sell portfolio securities at inopportune times or at distressed values in order to comply with regulatory requirements applicable to the use of leverage or as required by the terms of leverage instruments, which may cause the Trust to incur losses. The use of leverage may limit a Trust’s ability to invest in certain types of securities or use certain types of hedging strategies. Each Trust incurs expenses in connection with the use of leverage, all of which are borne by shareholders and may reduce income to the shareholders. Moreover, to the extent the calculation of the Trusts’ investment advisory fees includes assets purchased with the proceeds of leverage, the investment advisory fees payable to the Trusts’ investment adviser will be higher than if the Trusts did not use leverage.

Each Trust may utilize leverage through reverse repurchase agreements as described in the Notes to Financial Statements.

Under the 1940 Act, each Trust is permitted to issue debt up to 3313% of its total managed assets. A Trust may voluntarily elect to limit its leverage to less than the maximum amount permitted under the 1940 Act.

If a Trust segregates or designates on its books and records cash or liquid assets having a value not less than the value of a Trust’s obligations under the reverse repurchase agreement (including accrued interest), then such transaction is not considered a senior security and is not subject to the foregoing limitations and requirements imposed by the 1940 Act.

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Trusts may invest in various derivative financial instruments. These instruments are used to obtain exposure to a security, commodity, index, market, and/or other assets without owning or taking physical custody of securities, commodities and/or other referenced assets or to manage market, equity, credit, interest rate, foreign currency exchange rate, commodity and/or other risks. Derivative financial instruments may give rise to a form of economic leverage and involve risks, including the imperfect correlation between the value of a derivative financial instrument and the underlying asset, possible default of the counterparty to the transaction or illiquidity of the instrument. The Trusts’ successful use of a derivative financial instrument depends on the investment adviser’s ability to predict pertinent market movements accurately, which cannot be assured. The use of these instruments may result in losses greater than if they had not been used, may limit the amount of appreciation a Trust can realize on an investment and/or may result in lower distributions paid to shareholders. The Trusts’ investments in these instruments, if any, are discussed in detail in the Notes to Financial Statements.

 

 

 

THE BENEFITS AND RISKS OF LEVERAGING / DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS      11  


Schedule of Investments  

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security     Par
(000)
    Value  
Asset-Backed Securities — 23.0%  

Ajax Mortgage Loan Trust, Series 2017-D, Class A, 3.75%, 12/25/57(a)(b)

    USD       203     $ 204,115  

ALM VI Ltd., Series 2012-6A, Class DR3, 7.49%, 07/15/26(a)(b)

      1,000       907,503  

ALM VII Ltd., Series 2013-7R2A, Class CR2, 5.44%, 10/15/27(a)(b)

      500       472,070  

Anchorage Capital CLO Ltd.(a):

     

Series 2013-1A, Class DR, 9.24%, 10/13/30(b)

      1,000       953,211  

Series 2014-4RA, Class D, 5.11%, 01/28/31(b)

      1,000       919,836  

Series 2016-9A, Class D, (3 mo. LIBOR US + 4.00%), 6.44%, 01/15/29(c)

      1,000       995,066  

Apidos CLO XVIII, Series 2018-18A, Class E, 8.17%, 10/22/30(a)(b)

      1,000       885,966  

Apidos CLO XXI, Series 2015-21A, Class DR, 7.64%, 07/18/27(a)(b)

      500       456,217  

Ares XXXIV CLO Ltd., Series 2015-2A, Class E2, (3 mo. LIBOR US + 5.20%), 7.71%, 07/29/26(a)(c)

      1,000       978,426  

Ares XXXVII CLO Ltd., Series 2015-4A, Class DR, 8.59%, 10/15/30(a)(b)

      250       227,984  

Bayview Financial Revolving Asset Trust, Series 2005-E, Class A1, (1 mo. LIBOR + 0.50%), 3.51%, 12/28/40(a)(c)

      1,951       1,809,533  

Benefit Street Partners CLO II Ltd., Series 2013-IIA, Class CR, (3 mo. LIBOR US + 3.70%), 6.14%, 07/15/29(a)(c)

      1,500       1,441,269  

Burnham Park CLO Ltd., Series 2016-1A, Class ER, 7.87%, 10/20/29(a)(b)(d)

      500       500,000  

C-BASS Trust, Series 2007-CB1, Class AF4, 3.58%, 01/25/37(e)

      2,283       1,039,023  

Carlyle US CLO Ltd., Series 2016-4A(a)(b):

     

Class CR, 5.27%, 10/20/27

      750       697,661  

Class DR, 7.87%, 10/20/27

      250       219,056  

Cedar Funding VI CLO Ltd., Series 2016-6A(a)(b):

     

Class DR, 5.47%, 10/20/28

      1,000       938,672  

Class ER, 8.37%, 10/20/28

      250       228,952  

Conseco Finance Corp.:

     

Series 1997-2, Class M1, 7.54%, 06/15/28(b)

      1,598       1,612,371  

Series 2001-D, Class B1, (1 mo. LIBOR + 2.50%), 4.96%, 11/15/32(c)

      1,147       1,144,809  

Conseco Finance Securitizations Corp., Series 2002-1, Class M2, 9.55%, 12/01/33(b)

      2,500       2,635,731  

Credit-Based Asset Servicing & Securitization LLC, Series 2006-MH1, Class B1, 6.25%, 10/25/36(a)(e)

      1,000       1,002,322  

CMC Trust, Series 2017-1TR, 4.50%, 03/25/21(a)

      771       772,117  

CWABS Asset-Backed Certificates Trust, Series 2005-17, Class 1AF4, 4.32%, 05/25/36(e)

      817       732,785  

Deutsche Financial Capital Securitization LLC, Series 1991-I, Class M, 6.80%, 04/15/28

      1,138       1,181,666  

Dryden 64 CLO Ltd., Series 2018-64A, Class D, 5.09%, 04/18/31(a)(b)

      1,000       907,841  

First Franklin Mortgage Loan Trust, Series 2006-FF16, Class 2A3, (1 mo. LIBOR US + 0.14%), 2.65%, 12/25/36(c)

      680       397,602  

Flatiron CLO Ltd., Series 2013-1A, Class C, (3 mo. LIBOR US + 3.60%), 6.05%, 01/17/26(a)(c)

      500       499,872  

Galaxy XXIX CLO Ltd., Series 2018-29A, Class D, 5.02%, 11/15/26(a)(b)

      750       710,071  

GoldenTree Loan Opportunities IX Ltd., Series 2014-9A, Class ER2, 8.17%, 10/29/29(a)(b)

      500       444,656  

Highbridge Loan Management Ltd., Series 5A-2015, Class ERR, 8.43%, 10/15/30(a)(b)

      500       437,328  

KKR CLO Ltd., Series 12, Class ER2,
8.58%, 10/15/30(a)(b)

      1,000       906,857  
Security     Par
(000)
    Value  
Asset-Backed Securities (continued)  

Lehman ABS Manufactured Housing Contract Trust, Series 2002-A, Class C, 0.00%, 06/15/33

    USD       2,363     $ 1,905,675  

Long Beach Mortgage Loan Trust(c):

     

Series 2006-4, Class 2A4, (1 mo. LIBOR US + 0.26%), 2.77%, 05/25/36

      856       390,762  

Series 2006-5, Class 2A3, (1 mo. LIBOR US + 0.15%), 2.66%, 06/25/36

      1,113       614,553  

Series 2006-7, Class 2A3, (1 mo. LIBOR US + 0.16%), 2.67%, 08/25/36

      1,741       912,966  

Series 2006-7, Class 2A4, (1 mo. LIBOR US + 0.24%), 2.75%, 08/25/36

      1,742       923,340  

Series 2006-9, Class 2A3, (1 mo. LIBOR US + 0.16%), 2.67%, 10/25/36

      1,557       670,755  

Madison Park Funding XXX Ltd.(b):

     

Series 2017-25A, Class D, (3 mo. LIBOR US + 6.10%), 8.59%, 04/25/29(a)(c)

      500       459,117  

Series 2012-30X, Class C, 7.39%, 04/15/29

      250       216,068  

Series 2018-30A, Class D, 4.94%, 04/15/29(a)

      500       457,215  

Merrill Lynch Mortgage Investors Trust, Series 2006-OPT1, Class M1, (1 mo. LIBOR US + 0.26%), 2.77%, 08/25/37(c)

      1,799       560,880  

Neuberger Berman CLO XV, Series 2013-15A, Class DR, 5.49%, 10/15/29(a)(b)

      1,000       917,501  

OCP CLO Ltd., Series 2016-12A, Class CR, 5.44%, 10/18/28(a)(b)

      250       238,871  

OHA Credit Partners IX Ltd., Series 2013-9A, Class DR, (3 mo. LIBOR US + 3.30%), 5.77%, 10/20/25(a)(c)

      1,000       991,795  

Option One Mortgage Loan Trust, Series 2007-FXD1, Class 2A1, 5.87%, 01/25/37(e)

      863       807,484  

OZLM XIV Ltd., Series 2015-14A, Class CR, 5.44%, 01/15/29(a)(b)

      1,000       944,400  

Palmer Square Loan Funding Ltd., Series 2018-4A, Class C, 4.80%, 11/15/26(a)(b)

      1,800       1,709,675  

Park Avenue Institutional Advisers CLO Ltd.(a)(b):

     

Series 2016-1A, Class DR, 8.53%, 08/23/31

      500       447,267  

Series 2018-1A, Class D, 8.64%, 10/20/31

      400       364,334  

Regatta VI Funding Ltd., Series 2016-1A, Class DR, 5.17%, 07/20/28(a)(b)

      500       471,770  

Rockford Tower CLO Ltd., Series 2017-1A, Class D, (3 mo. LIBOR US + 3.25%), 5.69%, 04/15/29(a)(c)

      1,000       951,954  

RSO REPO SPE Trust, 5.20%, 09/15/20(a)(d)

      1,422       1,422,478  

TIAA CLO II Ltd., Series 2017-1A, Class E, (3 mo. LIBOR US + 5.85%), 8.32%, 04/20/29(a)(c)

      1,000       916,863  

West CLO Ltd., Series 2013-1A, Class C, (3 mo. LIBOR US + 3.65%), 6.24%, 11/07/25(a)(c)

      1,000       994,143  
   

 

 

 

Total Asset-Backed Securities — 23.0%
(Cost — $47,526,893)

 

    45,550,454  
   

 

 

 

Corporate Bonds — 61.1%

 

Argentina — 3.5%

 

Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 SA, 6.88%, 02/01/27(a)

      928       854,920  

Arcor SAIC, 6.00%, 07/06/23(a)(f)

      1,689       1,551,769  

Cablevision SA, 6.50%, 06/15/21(a)

      1,513       1,454,371  

Generacion Mediterranea SA/Generacion Frias SA/Central Termica Roca SA, 9.63%, 07/27/23(a)(f)

      1,078       910,910  

Tarjeta Naranja SA (Argentina Deposit Rates Badlar Pvt Banks + 3.50%), 50.06%, 04/11/22(a)(c)

      740       296,004  

Tecpetrol SA, 4.88%, 12/12/22(a)

      891       817,493  

YPF SA (Argentina Deposit Rates Badlar Pvt Banks + 4.00%), 47.83%, 07/07/20(c)

      2,788       1,111,732  
   

 

 

 
        6,997,199  
 

 

 

12    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security     Par
(000)
    Value  
Austria — 0.4%  

Suzano Austria GmbH, 6.00%, 01/15/29(a)

    USD       861     $ 877,144  
   

 

 

 
Bahrain — 0.1%  

Oil and Gas Holding Co. BSCC, 7.50%, 10/25/27

      200       196,750  
   

 

 

 
Bermuda — 0.5%  

China Singyes Solar Technologies Holdings Ltd., 7.95%, 02/15/19(g)

      300       164,625  

Geopark Ltd., 6.50%, 09/21/24(a)(f)

      1,000       925,000  
   

 

 

 
        1,089,625  
Brazil — 0.3%  

Oi SA, (8.00% Cash or 4.00% PIK),
10.00%, 07/27/25(h)

      615       606,544  
   

 

 

 
British Virgin Islands — 0.7%  

Central American Bottling Corp., 5.75%, 01/31/27(a)

      626       610,350  

New Lion Bridge Co. Ltd., 9.75%, 10/10/20

      200       180,075  

Prime Bloom Holdings Ltd., 6.95%, 07/05/22

      200       154,970  

Rock International Investment Co., 6.63%, 03/27/20

      550       421,285  
   

 

 

 
        1,366,680  
Canada — 4.4%  

Bausch Health Cos., Inc., 9.00%, 12/15/25(a)

      844       839,780  

Canbriam Energy, Inc., 9.75%, 11/15/19(a)(f)

      1,540       1,347,500  

Frontera Energy Corp., 9.70%, 06/25/23(a)(f)

      2,000       1,972,500  

Hammerhead Resources, Inc., Series AI, 9.00%, 07/10/22

      1,500       1,365,000  

Largo Resources Ltd., 9.25%, 06/01/21(a)

      210       220,762  

Masonite International Corp., 5.63%, 03/15/23(a)

      399       387,030  

NOVA Chemicals Corp., 5.25%, 06/01/27(a)(f)

      1,495       1,323,075  

Stoneway Capital Corp., 10.00%, 03/01/27(a)(f)

      1,458       1,303,140  
   

 

 

 
        8,758,787  
Cayman Islands — 4.9%  

Alpha Star Holding V Ltd., 6.63%, 04/18/23

      200       177,750  

Ambac LSNI LLC, 7.80%, 02/12/23(a)(b)

      548       548,996  

Anton Oilfield Services Group, 9.75%, 12/05/20

      200       177,928  

Central China Real Estate Ltd., 6.88%, 10/23/20

      200       195,500  

China Aoyuan Property Group Ltd., 7.50%, 05/10/21

      200       196,178  

China Evergrande Group, 4.25%, 02/14/23

    HKD       2,000       225,433  

China SCE Property Holdings Ltd., 7.45%, 04/17/21

    USD       300       293,250  

CIFI Holdings Group Co. Ltd.:

     

6.88%, 04/23/21

      200       195,519  

5.50%, 01/23/22

      400       362,000  

Energuate Trust, 5.88%, 05/03/27(a)

      503       464,018  

Fantasia Holdings Group Co. Ltd., 8.38%, 03/08/21

      200       153,000  

Future Land Development Holdings Ltd., 6.50%, 09/12/20

      200       197,000  

Gol Finance, Inc., 7.00%, 01/31/25(a)(f)

      1,000       886,250  

Golden Wheel Tiandi Holdings Co. Ltd., 7.00%, 01/18/21

      200       175,518  

Gran Tierra Energy International Holdings Ltd., 6.25%, 02/15/25(a)

      400       371,500  

Jingrui Holdings Ltd., 9.45%, 04/23/21

      200       183,054  

KWG Group Holdings Ltd., 9.85%, 11/26/20

      200       206,500  

Latam Finance Ltd., 6.88%, 04/11/24(a)(f)

      645       636,131  

Logan Property Holdings Co. Ltd., 8.75%, 12/12/20

      200       203,500  

Pearl Holding III Ltd., 9.50%, 12/11/22

      200       172,000  

Powerlong Real Estate Holdings Ltd.:

     

5.95%, 07/19/20

      200       191,500  

6.95%, 04/17/21

      300       280,500  

Redco Group, 6.38%, 02/27/19

      200       197,500  

Shimao Property Holdings Ltd., 6.38%, 10/15/21

      200       199,000  

Times China Holdings Ltd., 6.25%, 01/17/21

      500       479,970  

Transocean Phoenix 2 Ltd., 7.75%, 10/15/24(a)(f)

      1,322       1,314,992  

Yankuang Group Cayman Ltd., 4.75%, 11/30/20

      200       193,000  
Security     Par
(000)
    Value  
Cayman Islands (continued)  

Yuzhou Properties Co. Ltd., 7.90%, 05/11/21

    USD       700     $ 693,927  

Zhenro Properties Group Ltd., 12.50%, 01/02/21

      200       200,203  
   

 

 

 
        9,771,617  
Chile — 0.5%  

Baoxin Auto Finance I Ltd., 5.63%(b)(i)

      200       167,011  

Celeo Redes Operacion Chile SA, 5.20%, 06/22/47(a)

      737       693,087  

Shandong Iron And Steel Xinheng International Co. Ltd., 6.50%, 06/14/21

      200       187,450  
   

 

 

 
        1,047,548  
China — 0.7%  

Easy Tactic Ltd., 8.88%, 09/27/21

      200       200,500  

Excel Capital Global Ltd., 7.00%(b)(i)

      200       198,000  

Greenland Global Investment Ltd., 7.67%, 09/26/21(b)

      200       190,000  

Guangxi Financial Investment Group Co. Ltd., 5.75%, 01/23/21

      200       169,183  

Huachen Energy Co. Ltd., 6.63%, 05/18/20(g)

      300       159,755  

Scenery Journey Ltd., 11.00%, 11/06/20

      200       200,500  

Zhejiang Baron BVI Co. Ltd., 6.80%, 08/27/21

      200       199,984  
   

 

 

 
        1,317,922  
Colombia — 0.2%  

Credivalores-Crediservicios SAS, 9.75%, 07/27/22(a)

      400       347,574  
   

 

 

 
Czech Republic — 0.1%  

Residomo SRO, 3.38%, 10/15/24

    EUR       100       111,188  
   

 

 

 
Denmark — 0.2%  

DKT Finance ApS, 7.00%, 06/17/23

      280       338,102  
   

 

 

 
Dominican Republic — 0.5%  

Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI SA, 6.75%, 03/30/29(a)

    USD       928       897,840  
   

 

 

 
France — 1.1%  

BNP Paribas SA, 4.38%, 03/01/33(b)(f)

      800       748,882  

BPCE SA, 5.15%, 07/21/24(a)

      600       602,487  

Credit Agricole SA, 4.00%, 01/10/33(a)(b)

      750       686,809  

Crown European Holdings SA, 2.25%, 02/01/23

    EUR       100       114,568  
   

 

 

 
        2,152,746  
Germany — 0.8%  

IHO Verwaltungs GmbH, (2.75% Cash or 3.50% PIK), 2.75%, 09/15/21(h)

      100       113,429  

IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, 4.00%, 01/31/28(b)

      500       542,877  

Unitymedia GmbH, 6.13%, 01/15/25(a)(f)

    USD       988       992,841  
   

 

 

 
        1,649,147  
Hong Kong — 0.1%  

Studio City Finance Ltd., 8.50%, 12/01/20

      300       299,537  
   

 

 

 
India — 0.2%  

JSW Steel Ltd., 5.25%, 04/13/22

      400       387,182  
   

 

 

 
Indonesia — 0.1%  

Jasa Marga Persero Tbk PT, 7.50%, 12/11/20

    IDR       2,000,000       130,417  

Wijaya Karya Persero Tbk PT, 7.70%, 01/31/21

      2,000,000       130,153  
   

 

 

 
        260,570  
Ireland — 0.9%  

Ardagh Packaging Finance PLC/Ardagh Holdings USA, Inc.:

     

4.13%, 05/15/23

    EUR       100       116,354  

6.00%, 02/15/25(a)(f)

    USD       1,000       923,120  

4.75%, 07/15/27

    GBP       140       161,485  

Bank of Ireland Group PLC, 4.13%, 09/19/27(b)

    USD       500       455,326  

Virgin Media Receivables Financing Notes II DAC, 5.75%, 04/15/23

    GBP       110       138,909  
   

 

 

 
        1,795,194  
 

 

 

SCHEDULES OF INVESTMENTS      13  


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security     Par
(000)
    Value  
Italy — 0.8%  

Assicurazioni Generali SpA(3 mo. EURIBOR + 5.35%), 5.00%, 06/08/48(j)

    EUR       500     $ 580,752  

Buzzi Unicem SpA, 2.13%, 04/28/23

      100       114,326  

Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, 3.88%, 07/14/27(a)

    USD       700       602,124  

Nexi Capital SpA, 4.13%, 11/01/23

    EUR       100       113,150  

Schumann SpA, 7.00%, 07/31/23

      100       115,374  
   

 

 

 
        1,525,726  
Japan — 0.3%  

SoftBank Group Corp., 4.00%, 04/20/23

      200       235,452  

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.:

     

0.38%, 11/21/20

      100       114,572  

0.78%, 11/21/22(b)

      100       114,002  

1.13%, 11/21/22

      100       115,311  
   

 

 

 
        579,337  
Jersey — 0.2%  

CPUK Finance Ltd., 4.25%, 02/28/47

    GBP       100       121,818  

LHC3 PLC, (4.13% Cash or 4.88% PIK), 4.13%, 08/15/24(h)

    EUR       240       261,831  
   

 

 

 
        383,649  
Luxembourg — 2.2%  

B&M European Value Retail SA, 4.13%, 02/01/22

    GBP       100       124,204  

Cabot Financial Luxembourg SA, 7.50%, 10/01/23

      100       115,810  

DEA Finance SA, 7.50%, 10/15/22

    EUR       100       119,616  

Garfunkelux Holdco 3 SA, 7.50%, 08/01/22

      100       101,124  

Gilex Holding Sarl, 8.50%, 05/02/23(a)

    USD       214       216,407  

INEOS Group Holdings SA, 5.38%, 08/01/24

    EUR       100       111,997  

Intelsat Connect Finance SA, 9.50%, 02/15/23(a)

    USD       167       143,620  

Minerva Luxembourg SA, 6.50%, 09/20/26(a)

      557       517,314  

Puma International Financing SA, 5.13%, 10/06/24(a)

      1,000       798,750  

Rumo Luxembourg Sarl, 7.38%, 02/09/24(a)(f)

      928       963,960  

Telecom Italia Capital SA, 6.38%, 11/15/33

      385       347,513  

Telenet Finance VI Luxembourg SCA, 4.88%, 07/15/27

    EUR       90       109,676  

VM Holdings SA, 5.38%, 05/04/27(a)(f)

    USD       750       725,625  
   

 

 

 
        4,395,616  
Mexico — 3.3%  

Axtel SAB de CV, 6.38%, 11/14/24(a)(f)

      1,000       946,250  

BBVA Bancomer SA, 6.75%, 09/30/22(a)

      500       525,000  

Controladora Mabe SA de CV, 5.60%, 10/23/28(a)

      444       412,920  

Cydsa SAB de CV, 6.25%, 10/04/27(a)

      800       715,000  

Docuformas SAPI de CV, 9.25%, 10/11/22(a)

      400       356,800  

Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV, 5.95%(a)(b)(i)

      796       771,125  

Grupo Posadas SAB de CV, 7.88%, 06/30/22(a)

      1,000       963,768  

Mexichem SAB de CV, 5.50%, 01/15/48(a)

      460       393,300  

Petroleos Mexicanos:

     

6.50%, 03/13/27

      417       391,980  

5.35%, 02/12/28

      19       16,578  

Trust F/1401, 6.95%, 01/30/44

      1,192       1,123,460  
   

 

 

 
        6,616,181  
Mongolia — 0.0%  

Energy Resources LLC, 8.00%, 09/30/22(b)

      34       31,063  
   

 

 

 
Netherlands — 3.7%  

ABN AMRO Bank NV(5 year USD Swap + 2.20%), 4.40%, 03/27/28(j)

      800       783,849  

Argentum Netherlands BV for Zurich Insurance Co. Ltd., 5.13%, 06/01/48(b)

      500       462,250  

Axalta Coating Systems Dutch Holding B BV, 3.75%, 01/15/25

      100       109,990  

Energizer Gamma Acquisition BV, 4.63%, 07/15/26

      100       107,128  

Greenko Dutch BV, 5.25%, 07/24/24

    USD       200       179,250  
Security     Par
(000)
    Value  
Netherlands (continued)  

Hertz Holdings Netherlands BV, 5.50%, 03/30/23

    EUR       110     $ 124,129  

ING Groep NV, 4.70%, 03/22/28(b)

    USD       800       790,359  

InterXion Holding NV, 4.75%, 06/15/25

    EUR       100       117,200  

NN Group NV (3 mo. EURIBOR + 4.95%), 4.63%, 01/13/48(j)

      500       582,900  

NXP BV/NXP Funding LLC, 4.13%, 06/01/21(a)(f)

    USD       509       502,638  

OCI NV, 5.00%, 04/15/23

    EUR       180       210,191  

Petrobras Global Finance BV:

     

5.30%, 01/27/25

    USD       430       410,220  

8.75%, 05/23/26

      659       739,727  

6.00%, 01/27/28

      706       665,405  

United Group BV, 4.88%, 07/01/24

    EUR       140       157,190  

Ziggo BV, 5.50%, 01/15/27(a)(f)

    USD       1,540       1,378,300  
   

 

 

 
        7,320,726  
Panama — 0.5%  

Avianca Holdings SA/Avianca Leasing LLC/Grupo Taca Holdings Ltd., 8.38%, 05/10/20

      757       727,666  

Promerica Financial Corp., 9.70%, 05/14/24(a)

      200       205,000  
   

 

 

 
        932,666  
Singapore — 0.5%  

Global Prime Capital Pte Ltd., 7.25%, 04/26/21

      200       200,500  

JGC Ventures Pte Ltd., 10.75%, 08/30/21

      200       205,100  

Medco Straits Services Pte Ltd., 8.50%, 08/17/22

      200       194,750  

Mulhacen Pte Ltd., (6.50% Cash or 7.25% PIK), 6.50%, 08/01/23(h)

    EUR       310       333,871  
   

 

 

 
        934,221  
South Africa — 0.2%  

Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., 6.35%, 08/10/28(a)

    USD       340       327,675  
   

 

 

 
Spain — 0.6%  

Banco de Sabadell SA, 5.38%, 12/12/28(b)

    EUR       400       458,873  

Banco Santander SA, 2.13%, 02/08/28

      500       523,329  

El Corte Ingles SA, 3.00%, 03/15/24

      100       114,861  
   

 

 

 
        1,097,063  
Sweden — 0.1%  

Verisure Holding AB, 3.50%, 05/15/23

      144       161,721  

Verisure Midholding AB, 5.75%, 12/01/23

      100       110,256  
   

 

 

 
        271,977  
Turkey — 0.2%  

Petkim Petrokimya Holding, 5.88%, 01/26/23(a)

    USD       440       399,300  
   

 

 

 
United Kingdom — 2.0%  

Arqiva Broadcast Finance PLC, 6.75%, 09/30/23

    GBP       100       127,460  

Arrow Global Finance PLC, 5.13%, 09/15/24

      240       272,377  

Barclays Bank PLC, 6.63%, 03/30/22

    EUR       300       385,182  

Barclays PLC:

     

(5 year EUR Swap + 2.45%), 2.63%, 11/11/25(j)

      100       113,074  

4.84%, 05/09/28(f)

    USD       500       459,035  

International Game Technology PLC, 4.75%, 02/15/23

    EUR       100       121,731  

Jerrold Finco PLC, 6.25%, 09/15/21

    GBP       100       125,153  

Ladbrokes Group Finance PLC, 5.13%, 09/16/22

      7       8,708  

MARB BondCo PLC:

     

7.00%, 03/15/24

    USD       200       189,250  

6.88%, 01/19/25(a)

      1,357       1,258,618  

Pinnacle Bidco PLC, 6.38%, 02/15/25

    GBP       100       126,447  

Tesco Corporate Treasury Services PLC, 1.38%, 10/24/23

    EUR       100       111,573  

Vedanta Resources PLC, 7.13%, 05/31/23

    USD       500       447,500  

Virgin Media Finance PLC, 6.38%, 10/15/24

    GBP       110       140,865  

Worldpay Finance PLC, 3.75%, 11/15/22

    EUR       100       120,819  
   

 

 

 
        4,007,792  
 

 

 

14    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security     Par
(000)
    Value  
United States — 26.3%  

Ambac Assurance Corp., 5.10%, 06/07/20(a)

    USD       23     $ 30,101  

American Airlines Group, Inc., 4.87%, 04/22/25(d)

      257       257,000  

Andeavor Logistics LP/Tesoro Logistics Finance Corp., 5.25%, 01/15/25

      393       400,061  

Antero Resources Corp., 5.38%, 11/01/21

      100       96,500  

Arconic, Inc., 6.75%, 01/15/28(f)

      1,540       1,488,025  

Bristow Group, Inc., 8.75%, 03/01/23(a)(f)

      1,496       1,069,640  

Bruin E&P Partners LLC, 8.88%, 08/01/23(a)

      57       50,730  

BWAY Holding Co.:

     

4.75%, 04/15/24

    EUR       110       123,377  

5.50%, 04/15/24(a)

    USD       150       141,000  

Carlson Travel, Inc., 6.75%, 12/15/23(a)

      886       853,882  

Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc., 6.25%, 04/15/23

      210       194,250  

CCO Holdings LLC/CCO Holdings Capital Corp., 5.13%, 05/01/27(a)(f)

      1,000       931,400  

Centennial Resource Production LLC, 5.38%, 01/15/26(a)(f)

      1,000       930,000  

Cheniere Corpus Christi Holdings LLC, 5.88%, 03/31/25

      400       398,000  

Cheniere Energy, Inc., (4.88% PIK), 4.88%, 05/28/21(a)(h)(k)

      645       657,408  

Chesapeake Energy Corp., 7.00%, 10/01/24(f)

      1,329       1,149,585  

Citigroup, Inc., 6.68%, 09/13/43(f)

      500       589,840  

Colfax Corp., 3.25%, 05/15/25

    EUR       110       116,290  

Commercial Metals Co., 5.38%, 07/15/27

    USD       95       85,025  

CSC Holdings LLC, 10.88%, 10/15/25(a)(f)

      1,268       1,424,915  

DaVita, Inc., 5.00%, 05/01/25(f)

      875       794,062  

Diamondback Energy, Inc., 4.75%, 11/01/24(a)

      513       495,045  

Energy Transfer Equity LP, 7.50%, 10/15/20(f)

      1,000       1,040,000  

Equinix, Inc., 2.88%, 03/15/24

    EUR       100       114,088  

First Data Corp., 5.00%, 01/15/24(a)

    USD       504       485,100  

Five Point Operating Co. LP/Five Point Capital Corp., 7.88%, 11/15/25(a)(f)

      1,050       1,013,250  

Frontier Communications Corp., 8.50%, 04/01/26(a)(f)

      1,500       1,312,500  

GLP Capital LP/GLP Financing II, Inc., 5.38%, 11/01/23

      495       501,781  

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., 5.15%, 05/22/45(f)

      700       654,598  

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp., 8.00%, 05/15/22

      150       152,438  

HCA, Inc., 5.88%, 02/15/26(f)

      1,540       1,532,300  

Herc Rentals, Inc., 7.50%, 06/01/22(a)(f)

      1,313       1,362,237  

HSBC Holdings PLC, 5.25%, 03/14/44(f)

      700       693,829  

Iron Mountain US Holdings, Inc., 5.38%, 06/01/26(a)(f)

      1,540       1,401,400  

Iron Mountain, Inc., 3.00%, 01/15/25

    EUR       100       106,028  

Jagged Peak Energy LLC, 5.88%, 05/01/26(a)(f)

    USD       649       603,570  

K Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., 10.00%, 07/15/22(a)(f)

      1,500       1,312,500  

Kaiser Aluminum Corp., 5.88%, 05/15/24(f)

      1,540       1,505,350  

KFC Holding Co./Pizza Hut Holdings LLC/Taco Bell of America LLC, 5.00%, 06/01/24(a)(f)

      800       772,000  

MGM Growth Properties Operating Partnership LP/MGP Finance Co-Issuer, Inc., 4.50%, 09/01/26(f)

      1,600       1,448,000  

MPT Operating Partnership LP/MPT Finance Corp., 3.33%, 03/24/25

    EUR       100       113,812  

NGPL PipeCo LLC, 7.77%, 12/15/37(a)(f)

    USD       1,000       1,140,000  

Oasis Petroleum, Inc., 6.88%, 03/15/22

      301       283,693  

Outfront Media Capital LLC/Outfront Media Capital Corp., 5.63%, 02/15/24

      3       2,955  

Owens-Brockway Glass Container, Inc., 6.38%, 08/15/25(a)(f)

      1,495       1,480,050  

Pacific Drilling First Lien Escrow Issuer Ltd., 8.38%, 10/01/23(a)

      148       141,340  

Parsley Energy LLC/Parsley Finance Corp., 6.25%, 06/01/24(a)

      403       390,910  

Post Holdings, Inc., 5.00%, 08/15/26(a)(f)

      1,540       1,401,400  
Security     Par
(000)
    Value  
United States (continued)  

PulteGroup, Inc., 5.50%, 03/01/26

    USD       302     $ 290,675  

Quicken Loans, Inc., 5.75%, 05/01/25(a)(f)

      1,638       1,531,530  

Quintiles IMS, Inc., 3.25%, 03/15/25

    EUR       100       112,232  

Resolute Energy Corp., 8.50%, 05/01/20(f)

    USD       1,725       1,699,125  

Reynolds Group Issuer, Inc./Reynolds Group Issuer LLC/Reynolds Group Issuer Lu, 5.75%, 10/15/20

      401       400,208  

Sable Permian Resources Land LLC/AEPB Finance Corp., 13.00%, 11/30/20(a)(f)

      1,400       1,456,000  

Sabre GLBL, Inc., 5.38%, 04/15/23(a)

      400       398,000  

Scientific Games International, Inc., 10.00%, 12/01/22(f)

      1,500       1,522,500  

SEACOR Holdings, Inc., 3.25%, 05/15/30(f)

      1,500       1,261,047  

Sprint Corp., 7.88%, 09/15/23(f)

      787       807,659  

Steel Dynamics, Inc., 5.50%, 10/01/24

      496       491,040  

Sunoco LP/Sunoco Finance Corp., Series WI, 4.88%, 01/15/23

      607       591,825  

Talen Energy Supply LLC, 10.50%, 01/15/26(a)(f)

      1,322       1,123,700  

Tenneco, Inc., 5.00%, 07/15/24

    EUR       110       128,698  

TransDigm, Inc., 6.50%, 05/15/25(f)

    USD       1,540       1,470,700  

TRI Pointe Group, Inc., 4.88%, 07/01/21

      676       645,580  

United Rentals North America, Inc., 4.88%, 01/15/28(f)

      1,500       1,316,250  

Venator Finance Sarl/Venator Materials LLC, 5.75%, 07/15/25(a)

      200       160,000  

VeriSign, Inc., 4.75%, 07/15/27

      414       388,249  

VICI Properties 1 LLC/VICI FC, Inc., 8.00%, 10/15/23

      293       314,437  

Vistra Energy Corp.:

     

7.38%, 11/01/22

      200       206,500  

7.63%, 11/01/24

      189       199,395  

Weekley Homes LLC/Weekley Finance Corp., 6.00%, 02/01/23(f)

      1,500       1,402,500  

WMG Acquisition Corp., 4.13%, 11/01/24

    EUR       162       190,716  

Zayo Group LLC/Zayo Capital, Inc., 5.75%, 01/15/27(a)(f)

    USD       832       742,560  
   

 

 

 
        52,092,391  
   

 

 

 

Total Corporate Bonds — 61.1%
(Cost — $131,382,497)

 

    121,184,279  
 

 

 

 
Floating Rate Loan Interests(c) — 8.1%  

Netherlands — 0.6%

 

Stars Group Holdings B.V., 2018 Incremental Term Loan, (3 mo. LIBOR + 3.50%), 6.30%, 07/10/25

      1,194       1,151,219  
   

 

 

 
United States — 7.5%  

AL Midcoast Holdings LLC, 2018 Term Loan B, (3 mo. LIBOR + 5.50%), 8.30%, 07/31/25

      379       367,087  

BCP Raptor II LLC, 1st Lien Term Loan, (2 mo. LIBOR + 4.75%), 7.14%, 11/03/25

      402       371,347  

California Resources Corp., 2017 1st Lien Term Loan, (1 mo. LIBOR + 4.75%, 1.00% Floor), 7.26%, 12/31/22

      893       863,236  

Chimera Special Holding LLC, Term Loan, (1 mo. LIBOR + 2.00%), 4.35%, 10/04/19(d)

      1,994       1,994,385  

Foundation Building Materials LLC, 2018 Term Loan B, (1 mo. LIBOR + 3.25%), 5.71%, 08/13/25(d)

      565       528,275  

Gates Global LLC, 2017 Repriced Term Loan B, (1 mo. LIBOR + 2.75%, 1.00% Floor), 5.27%, 04/01/24

      1,568       1,486,241  

Jeld-Wen, Inc., 2017 1st Lien Term Loan, (3 mo. LIBOR + 2.00%), 4.80%, 12/14/24

      886       841,271  

LSTAR Securities Financing Vehicle, LPN, 2018 Term Loan, (1 mo. LIBOR + 2.00%), 4.35%, 04/01/21(d)

      654       651,409  

Pioneer Energy Services Corp., Term Loan, (1 mo. LIBOR + 7.75%, 1.00% Floor), 10.21%, 11/08/22(d)

      1,504       1,481,440  
 

 

 

SCHEDULES OF INVESTMENTS      15  


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security     Par
(000)
    Value  
United States (continued)  

PLH Infrastructure Services, Inc., 2018 Term Loan, (3 mo. LIBOR + 6.00%), 8.59%, 08/07/23(d)

    USD       337     $ 327,003  

Ply Gem Midco, Inc., 2018 Term Loan, (3 mo. LIBOR + 3.75%), 6.18%, 04/12/25(d)

      1,467       1,333,024  

Robertshaw US Holding Corp., 2018 1st Lien Term Loan, (1 mo. LIBOR + 3.50%, 1.00% Floor), 6.06%, 02/28/25

      854       775,006  

Roundpoint Mortgage Servicing Corp., 2018 Term Loan, (1 mo. LIBOR + 3.37%), 5.72%, 08/08/20(d)

      1,552       1,552,133  

Scientific Games International, Inc., 2018 Term Loan B5, (1 mo. LIBOR + 2.75%), 5.25%, 08/14/24

      1,568       1,467,888  

SRS Distribution, Inc., 2018 1st Lien Term Loan, (1 mo. LIBOR + 3.25%), 5.77%, 05/23/25

      160       148,529  

Summit Materials Companies I LLC, 2017 Term Loan B, (1 mo. LIBOR + 2.00%), 4.52%, 11/21/24

      857       819,617  
   

 

 

 
        15,007,891  
   

 

 

 

Total Floating Rate Loan Interests — 8.1%
(Cost — $16,795,686)

 

    16,159,110  
 

 

 

 
Foreign Agency Obligations — 4.8%  

Colombia — 1.2%

 

Colombia Government International Bond:

     

4.38%, 07/12/21

      215       218,171  

4.50%, 01/28/26

      671       669,826  

3.88%, 04/25/27(f)

      870       830,197  

4.50%, 03/15/29

      590       585,280  
   

 

 

 
        2,303,474  
Egypt — 0.8%  

Egypt Government International Bond:

     

5.75%, 04/29/20

      1,051       1,060,196  

8.50%, 01/31/47(a)

      488       439,810  
   

 

 

 
        1,500,006  
Indonesia — 1.3%  

Indonesia Government International Bond:

     

4.75%, 01/08/26

      200       202,398  

4.10%, 04/24/28(f)

      200       193,750  

5.35%, 02/11/49

      365       375,054  

Indonesia Treasury Bond:

     

7.88%, 04/15/19

    IDR       16,952       1,181,217  

8.38%, 09/15/26

      8,525       599,349  
   

 

 

 
        2,551,768  
Maldives — 0.1%  

Republic of Maldives Ministry of Finance and Treasury Bond, 7.00%, 06/07/22

    USD       200       187,000  
   

 

 

 
Mexico — 0.1%  

Mexico Government International Bond, 4.15%, 03/28/27

      320       308,400  
   

 

 

 
Qatar — 0.1%  

Qatar Government International Bond, 4.63%, 06/02/46

      250       254,688  
   

 

 

 
Russia — 0.2%  

Russian Foreign Bond — Eurobond:

     

4.75%, 05/27/26

      200       198,000  

4.25%, 06/23/27

      200       189,750  
   

 

 

 
        387,750  
Saudi Arabia — 0.6%  

Saudi Government International Bond, 4.50%, 04/17/30

      1,200       1,193,400  
   

 

 

 
Security     Par
(000)
    Value  
South Africa — 0.2%  

Republic of South Africa Government International Bond:

     

5.88%, 05/30/22(f)

    USD       224     $ 231,952  

4.88%, 04/14/26

      200       190,200  
   

 

 

 
        422,152  
Turkey — 0.2%  

Turkey Government International Bond:

     

4.88%, 04/16/43

      290       214,238  

5.75%, 05/11/47

      260       210,925  
   

 

 

 
        425,163  
   

 

 

 

Total Foreign Agency Obligations — 4.8%
(Cost — $9,817,384)

 

    9,533,801  
 

 

 

 
Non-Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities — 18.7%  

Collateralized Mortgage Obligations — 2.4%

 

Alternative Loan Trust, Series 2007-AL1, Class A1, (1 mo. LIBOR US + 0.25%), 2.76%, 06/25/37(c)

      879       693,569  

ARI Investments LLC, 5.28%, 01/06/25(b)(d)

      882       882,053  

BCAP LLC Trust, Series 2012-RR3, Class 1A5, 14.80%, 12/26/37(a)(b)

      1,093       992,760  

Citicorp Mortgage Securities Trust, Series 2007-9, Class 1A1, 6.25%, 12/25/37

      1,006       874,363  

RALI Trust, Series 2006-QO6, Class A1, (1 mo. LIBOR US + 0.18%), 2.69%, 06/25/46(c)

      3,060       1,218,601  
   

 

 

 
        4,661,346  
Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities — 16.3%  

245 Park Avenue Trust, Series 2017-245P, Class E, 3.66%, 06/05/37(a)(b)

      380       340,964  

Arbor Realty Commercial Real Estate Notes Ltd., Series 2017-FL1, Class B, (1 mo. LIBOR US + 2.50%), 4.96%, 04/15/27(a)(c)

      437       440,284  

Atrium Hotel Portfolio Trust, Series 2017-ATRM, Class E, 5.51%, 12/15/36(a)(b)

      190       185,794  

Bayview Commercial Asset Trust, Series 2007-6A, Class A4A, (1 mo. LIBOR + 1.50%), 4.01%, 12/25/37(a)(c)

      2,000       1,499,639  

BBCMS Mortgage Trust(a)(b):

     

Series 2017-DELC, Class F, 5.96%, 08/15/36

      550       547,278  

Series 2018-TALL, Class D, 3.90%, 03/15/37

      500       485,021  

BBCMS Trust, Series 2015-STP, Class E, 4.28%, 09/10/28(a)(b)

      1,000       969,357  

Benchmark Mortgage Trust, Series 2018-B7, Class C, 4.86%, 11/15/51(b)

      1,000       997,252  

Bsprt Issuer Ltd., Series 2017-FL1, Class A, (1 mo. LIBOR US + 1.35%), 3.81%, 06/15/27(a)(c)

      61       60,852  

BX Commercial Mortgage Trust, Series 2018-IND, Class H, 5.46%, 11/15/35(a)(b)

      999       987,906  

BXP Trust, Series 2017-CC(a)(b):

     

Class D, 3.55%, 08/13/37

      180       167,865  

Class E, 3.55%, 08/13/37

      350       313,748  

CFCRE Commercial Mortgage Trust, Series 2011-C1, Class C, 6.07%, 04/15/44(a)(b)

      1,000       1,037,558  

Citigroup Commercial Mortgage Trust, Class C(b):

     

Series 2015-GC27, 4.43%, 02/10/48

      1,000       983,495  

Series 2016-C1, 4.95%, 05/10/49

      534       537,652  

CLNS Trust, Series 2017-IKPR, Class E, (1 mo. LIBOR + 3.50%), 6.02%, 06/11/32(a)(c)

      790       783,745  

COMM Mortgage Trust, Series 2015-CR23, Class CME, 3.68%, 05/10/48(a)(b)

      600       592,632  

Commercial Mortgage Trust, Series 2015-CR23(b):

     

Class C, 4.25%, 05/10/48

      1,050       1,023,885  
 

 

 

16    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security     Par
(000)
    Value  
Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (continued)  

Class CMC, 3.68%, 05/10/48(a)

    USD       1,000     $ 990,139  

Class CMD, 3.68%, 05/10/48(a)

      1,150       1,136,017  

Core Industrial Trust, Series 2015-WEST, Class E, 4.23%, 02/10/37(a)(b)

      1,000       976,491  

DBJPM Mortgage Trust, Series 2017-C6, Class XD, 1.00%, 06/10/50(b)

      11,000       693,990  

DBUBS Mortgage Trust(a)(b):

     

Series 2011-LC1A, Class E, 5.70%, 11/10/46

      1,000       1,028,169  

Series 2017-BRBK, Class F, 3.53%, 10/10/34(d)

      390       346,174  

GS Mortgage Securities Corp. Trust, Series 2017-500K(a)(c):

     

Class D, (1 mo. LIBOR + 1.30%), 3.76%, 07/15/32

      120       118,682  

Class E, (1 mo. LIBOR + 1.50%), 3.96%, 07/15/32

      240       236,269  

Class F, (1 mo. LIBOR + 1.80%), 4.26%, 07/15/32

      10       9,845  

Class G, (1 mo. LIBOR + 2.50%), 4.96%, 07/15/32

      70       68,841  

GS Mortgage Securities Trust(a):

     

Series 2014-GC22, Class D, 4.69%, 06/10/47(b)

      179       159,960  

Series 2017-GS7, Class D, 3.00%, 08/10/50

      375       313,964  

Series 2017-GS7, Class E, 3.00%, 08/10/50

      300       243,837  

JPMBB Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust, Series 2015-C33, Class D1, 4.12%, 12/15/48(a)(b)

      1,619       1,515,724  

JPMCC Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust, Series 2017-JP5, Class D, 4.65%, 03/15/50(a)(b)

      1,240       1,172,765  

JPMorgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust(a):

     

Series 2017-MAUI, Class E, (1 mo. LIBOR + 2.95%), 5.34%, 07/15/34(c)

      653       638,433  

Series 2018-WPT, Class FFX, 5.54%, 07/05/33

      250       244,310  

LSTAR Commercial Mortgage Trust, Series 2017-5(a)(b):

     

Class C, 4.87%, 03/10/50

      1,000       893,295  

Class X, 1.11%, 03/10/50

      12,466       586,546  

MAD Mortgage Trust, Series 2017-330M(a)(b):

     

Class D, 3.98%, 08/15/34

      130       126,786  

Class E, 4.03%, 08/15/34

      180       173,054  

MASTR Reperforming Loan Trust, Series 2005-1, Class 1A5, 8.00%, 08/25/34(a)

      1,043       1,076,162  

Morgan Stanley Bank of America Merrill Lynch Trust, Class D:

     

Series 2015-C23, 4.13%, 07/15/50(a)(b)

      1,000       904,453  

Series 2015-C25, 3.07%, 10/15/48

      80       66,658  

Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust:

     

Series 2017-H1, Class D, 2.55%, 06/15/50(a)

      1,010       753,511  

Series 2017-H1, Class XD, 2.20%, 06/15/50(a)(b)

      8,625       1,315,485  

Series 2018-H4, Class C, 5.08%, 12/15/51(b)

      711       699,292  

Series 2018-MP, Class E, 4.28%, 07/11/40(a)(b)

      250       230,936  

Series 2018-SUN, Class F, 5.01%, 07/15/35(a)(b)

      220       216,422  

Morgan Stanley Capital I, Inc., Series 2017-JWDR, Class E, 5.51%, 11/15/34(a)(b)

      160       157,803  

Natixis Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust, Series 2017-75B, Class E, 4.06%, 04/09/37(a)(b)

      170       153,702  

Olympic Tower Mortgage Trust, Series 2017-OT(a)(b):

     

Class D, 3.95%, 05/10/39

      140       129,296  

Class E, 3.95%, 05/10/39

      290       258,790  

RAIT Trust, Series 2017-FL7, Class C, (1 mo. LIBOR + 2.50%), 4.96%, 06/15/37(a)(c)

      260       257,721  

Resource Capital Corp. Ltd., Series 2017-CRE5, Class B, (1 mo. LIBOR + 2.00%), 4.46%, 07/15/34(a)(c)

      560       556,670  

Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Trust(b):

     

Series 2015-NXS4, Class D, 3.60%, 12/15/48

      305       278,015  

Series 2016-NXS5, Class D, 4.88%, 01/15/59

      500       479,736  

Series 2018-BXI, Class E, 4.61%, 12/15/36(a)

      100       98,722  
Security     Par
(000)
    Value  
Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (continued)  

Wells Fargo Mortgage Backed Securities Trust, Series 2008-AR1, Class A2, 4.38%, 03/25/38(b)

    USD       876     $ 757,217  

WFRBS Commercial Mortgage Trust, Series 2012-C6, Class D, 5.58%, 04/15/45(a)(b)

      350       350,601  
   

 

 

 
        32,369,410  
   

 

 

 

Total Non-Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities — 18.7%
(Cost — $37,170,267)

 

    37,030,756  
 

 

 

 
Preferred Securities  

Capital Trusts — 3.8%

 

Australia — 0.1%  

Origin Energy Finance Ltd., 4.00%, 09/16/74(j)

      100       115,778  
   

 

 

 
Cayman Islands — 0.3%  

Agile Group Holdings Ltd., 6.88%(b)(i)

      200       166,250  

FWD Ltd., 5.50%(b)(i)

      200       178,500  

King Talent Management Ltd., 5.60%(b)(i)

      200       176,750  
   

 

 

 
        521,500  
China — 0.1%  

Tewoo Group No. 5 Ltd., 5.80%(b)(i)

      200       157,894  
   

 

 

 
Denmark — 0.4%  

Orsted A/S, 2.25%, 11/24/17(b)

      800       858,011  
   

 

 

 
France — 1.1%  

AXA SA, 3.25%, 05/28/49(b)

      700       764,434  

Societe Generale SA, 5.63%, 11/24/45

      700       701,000  

Solvay Finance SA (5 year EUR Swap + 3.70%), 5.43%(i)(j)

      140       171,232  

TOTAL SA (5 year EUR Swap + 3.35%), 3.37%(i)(j)

      600       701,376  
   

 

 

 
        2,338,042  
Hong Kong — 0.1%  

Yancoal International Resources Development Co. Ltd., 5.75%(i)(j)

      235       231,769  
   

 

 

 
Netherlands — 1.4%  

Argentum Netherlands BV for Swiss Re Ltd., 5.75%(i)(j)

      500       484,375  

ATF Netherlands BV (5 year EUR Swap + 4.38%), 3.75%(i)(j)

    EUR       300       330,806  

Naturgy Finance BV, 4.13%(i)(j)

      100       117,012  

Repsol International Finance BV, 3.88%(i)(j)

      100       117,611  

Telefonica Europe BV, 3.75%(i)(j)

      300       345,724  

Telefonica Europe BV, 3.88%(b)(i)

      500       518,220  

Volkswagen International Finance NV, 3.88%(i)(j)

      500       514,858  

Volkswagen International Finance NV, 4.63%(i)(j)

      300       338,655  
   

 

 

 
        2,767,261  
South Korea — 0.1%  

KDB Life Insurance Co. Ltd., 7.50%, 05/21/78(b)

      200       190,000  
   

 

 

 
Thailand — 0.1%  

PTTEP Treasury Center Co. Ltd., 4.60%(i)(j)

      200       187,500  
   

 

 

 
United States — 0.1%  

Belden, Inc., 4.13%, 10/15/26

      100       112,102  
   

 

 

 

Total Capital Trusts — 3.8%
(Cost — $7,840,116)

 

    7,479,857  
 

 

 

 

Total Preferred Securities — 3.8%
(Cost — $7,840,116)

 

    7,479,857  
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

SCHEDULES OF INVESTMENTS      17  


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security     Par
(000)
    Value  

U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities — 1.9%

 

Collateralized Mortgage Obligations — 1.9%

 

Fannie Mae Connecticut Avenue Securities, Series 2017-C03(c):

     

Class 1M2, (1 mo. LIBOR US + 3.00%), 5.51%, 10/25/29

    EUR       106     $ 109,811  

Class 1B1, (1 mo. LIBOR US + 4.85%), 7.36%, 10/25/29

      1,000       1,078,832  

Freddie Mac Structured Agency Credit Risk Debt Notes, Series 2017-DNA2(c):

     

Class M2, (1 mo. LIBOR US + 3.45%), 5.96%, 10/25/29

    USD       1,465       1,550,280  

Class B1, (1 mo. LIBOR US + 5.15%), 7.66%, 10/25/29

      1,000       1,120,427  
   

 

 

 

Total U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities — 1.9%
(Cost — $3,571,191)

 

    3,859,350  
 

 

 

 

Total Long-Term Investments — 121.4%
(Cost — $254,104,034)

 

    240,797,607  
 

 

 

 
       Shares         
Short-Term Securities — 1.2%  

BlackRock Liquidity Funds, T-Fund, Institutional Class,
2.32%(l)(m)

      2,363,454     $ 2,363,454  
   

 

 

 

Total Short-Term Securities — 1.2%
(Cost — $2,363,454)

 

    2,363,454  
 

 

 

 

Options Purchased — 0.1%
(Cost — $134,343)

 

    199,585  
 

 

 

 

Total Investments — 122.7%
(Cost — $256,601,831)

 

    243,360,646  

Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets — (22.7)%

 

    (45,088,217
 

 

 

 

Net Assets — 100.0%

 

  $ 198,272,429  
 

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Security exempt from registration pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. These securities may be resold in transactions exempt from registration to qualified institutional investors.

(b) 

Variable or floating rate security, which interest rate adjusts periodically based on changes in current interest rates and prepayments on the underlying pool of assets. Rate shown is the rate in effect as of period end.

(c) 

Variable rate security. Rate shown is the rate in effect as of period end.

(d) 

Security is valued using significant unobservable inputs and is classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy.

(e) 

Step-up bond that pays an initial coupon rate for the first period and then a higher coupon rate for the following periods. Rate as of period end.

(f) 

All or a portion of the security has been pledged as collateral in connection with outstanding reverse repurchase agreements.

(g) 

Issuer filed for bankruptcy and/or is in default.

(h) 

Payment-in-kind security which may pay interest/dividends in additional par/shares and/or in cash. Rates shown are the current rate and possible payment rates.

(i) 

Perpetual security with no stated maturity date.

(j) 

Variable rate security. Security may be issued at a fixed coupon rate, which converts to a variable rate at a specified date. Rate shown is the rate in effect as of period end.

(k) 

Convertible security.

(l) 

Annualized 7-day yield as of period end.

 
(m) 

During the year ended December 31, 2018, investments in issuers considered to be an affiliate of the Trust for purposes of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, were as follows:

 

Affiliate    Shares
Held at
12/31/17
     Net
Activity
     Shares
Held at
12/31/18
     Value at
12/31/18
     Income      Net
Realized
Gain (Loss)
 (a)
     Change in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 

BlackRock Liquidity Funds, T-Fund, Institutional Class

     3,180,865        (817,411      2,363,454      $ 2,363,454      $ 108,208      $      $  
           

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Includes net capital gain distributions, if applicable.

 

For Trust compliance purposes, the industry classifications refer to one or more of the industry sub-classifications used by one or more widely recognized market indexes or rating group indexes, and/or as defined by the investment adviser. These definitions may not apply for purposes of this report, which may combine such industry sub-classifications for reporting ease.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements

 

Counterparty    Interest
Rate
    Trade
Date
     Maturity
Date
 (a)
     Face Value      Face Value
Including
Accrued Interest
     Type of Non-Cash
Underlying Collateral
   Remaining Contractual
Maturity of the Agreements
 (a)

Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc.

     3.15     08/20/18        Open      $ 589,000      $ 595,129      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

     2.00       10/18/18        Open        164,750        165,351      Foreign Agency Obligations    Open/Demand

Barclays Capital, Inc.

     2.75       10/22/18        Open        515,625        518,218      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

Barclays Capital, Inc.

     3.05       10/22/18        Open        1,431,428        1,439,332      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     2.98       10/31/18        Open        1,892,500        1,901,580      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.00       11/07/18        Open        1,327,500        1,333,179      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.00       11/07/18        Open        1,247,260        1,252,595      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

 

 

18    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

 

Reverse Repurchase Agreements (continued)

 

Counterparty    Interest
Rate
    Trade
Date
     Maturity
Date
 (a)
     Face Value      Face Value
Including
Accrued Interest
     Type of Non-Cash
Underlying Collateral
   Remaining Contractual
Maturity of the Agreements
 (a)

Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc.

     3.15 %       11/15/18        Open      $ 673,000      $ 675,537      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       11/15/18        Open        765,000        767,786      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       11/15/18        Open        827,450        830,463      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       11/15/18        Open        752,500        755,240      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       11/15/18        Open        656,250        658,640      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       11/15/18        Open        636,480        638,798      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

Barclays Capital, Inc.

     3.05       12/10/18        Open        208,320        208,660      Foreign Agency Obligations    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.20       12/11/18        Open        693,680        694,871      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.25       12/11/18        Open        863,040        864,502      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.25       12/11/18        Open        573,244        574,215      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.25       12/11/18        Open        1,196,000        1,198,026      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.29       12/11/18        Open        655,168        656,293      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.29       12/11/18        Open        665,000        666,142      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/13/18        Open        1,222,162        1,223,904      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/13/18        Open        1,232,000        1,233,756      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/13/18        Open        1,178,100        1,179,779      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

Barclays Capital, Inc.

     3.00       12/14/18        Open        1,087,500        1,088,769      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     2.95       12/14/18        Open        896,437        897,465      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.00       12/14/18        Open        1,391,250        1,392,873      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.00       12/14/18        Open        1,522,313        1,524,088      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.05       12/14/18        Open        600,525        601,238      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.05       12/14/18        Open        948,655        949,781      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.05       12/14/18        Open        1,056,550        1,057,805      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.20       12/14/18        Open        443,869        444,424      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/14/18        Open        920,000        921,092      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/14/18        Open        1,176,000        1,177,396      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/14/18        Open        1,140,000        1,141,354      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/14/18        Open        1,143,450        1,144,808      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/14/18        Open        1,210,940        1,212,378      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/14/18        Open        1,070,300        1,071,571      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/14/18        Open        1,239,700        1,241,172      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/14/18        Open        1,162,700        1,164,081      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/14/18        Open        1,204,000        1,205,430      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/14/18        Open        1,297,450        1,298,991      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/14/18        Open        1,235,850        1,237,318      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/19/18        Open        1,102,920        1,104,055      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/19/18        Open        956,880        957,865      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.05       12/20/18        Open        766,687        767,416      Foreign Agency Obligations    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.20       12/20/18        Open        823,750        824,574      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.20       12/20/18        Open        790,000        790,790      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

BNP Paribas

     3.20       12/20/18        Open        776,250        777,026      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     2.79       12/20/18        Open        668,500        669,077      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     2.79       12/20/18        Open        474,642        475,052      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     2.79       12/20/18        Open        631,750        632,295      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     2.79       12/20/18        Open        702,000        702,606      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/20/18        Open        368,750        369,100      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/20/18        Open        762,500        763,224      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/20/18        Open        498,107        498,580      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand

RBC Capital Markets LLC

     3.05       12/20/18        Open        840,000        840,798      Corporate Bonds    Open/Demand
          

 

 

    

 

 

       
   $ 50,875,682      $ 50,976,488        
  

 

 

    

 

 

       

 

  (a) 

Certain agreements have no stated maturity and can be terminated by either party at any time.

 

 

 

SCHEDULES OF INVESTMENTS      19  


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

 

Derivative Financial Instruments Outstanding as of Period End

Futures Contracts

 

Description    Number of
Contracts
       Expiration
Date
       Notional
Amount (000)
       Value/
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 

Long Contracts:

                 

10- Year U.S. Ultra Long Treasury Bond

     9          03/20/19        $ 1,171        $ 9,410  

U.S. Ultra Bond

     7          03/20/19          1,125          (1,648

5-Year U.S. Treasury Note

     135          03/29/19          15,483          217,229  
                 

 

 

 
                    224,991  
                 

 

 

 

Short Contracts:

                 

10-Year U.S. Treasury Note

     148          03/20/19          18,058          (433,053

2-Year U.S. Treasury Note

     23          03/29/19          4,883          (3,621
                 

 

 

 
                    (436,674
                 

 

 

 
                  $ (211,683
                 

 

 

 

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts

 

Currency
Purchased
       Currency
Sold
       Counterparty      Settlement Date        Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 
USD     1,495,075        GBP     1,169,000        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.        02/05/19        $ 2,635  
USD     230,419        HKD     1,798,098        Bank of America N.A.        03/14/19          310  
                       

 

 

 
                          2,945  
                       

 

 

 
USD     512,085        IDR     7,890,718,440        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.        01/11/19          (35,167
USD     1,734,771        ARS     71,247,045        BNP Paribas S.A.        01/16/19          (123,010
USD     187,503        EUR     164,000        Citibank N.A.        02/05/19          (917
USD     2,178,309        EUR     1,908,000        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.        02/05/19          (13,803
USD     359,025        EUR     315,000        State Street Bank and Trust Co.        02/05/19          (2,881
USD     11,265,974        EUR     9,882,000        UBS AG        02/05/19          (87,510
USD     263,594        IDR     4,018,493,290        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC        03/15/19          (12,805
                       

 

 

 
                          (276,093
                       

 

 

 
                      $ (273,148
                     

 

 

 

Exchange-Traded Options Purchased

 

Description    Number of
Contracts
       Expiration
Date
       Exercise
Price
       Notional
Amount (000)
       Value  
Call  

SPX Volatility Index

     240          01/16/19        USD     27.00        USD     240        $ 27,000  
                          

 

 

 

OTC Interest Rate Swaptions Purchased

 

  

 

   Paid by the Trust   Received by the Trust   Counterparty   Expiration
Date
    Exercise
Rate
    Notional
Amount (000)
    Value  
Description    Rate     Frequency   Rate     Frequency

Call

                    

10-Year Interest Rate Swap, 03/21/29

    
3-Month LIBOR,
2.81%
 
 
  Quarterly     2.65   Semi-annual   Citibank N.A.     03/19/19       2.65     USD       11,060     $ 88,968  

10-Year Interest Rate Swap, 06/20/29

    
3-Month USD LIBOR,
2.81%
 
 
  Quarterly     2.78     Semi-annual   Citibank N.A.     06/18/19       2.78       USD       4,510       83,617  
                    

 

 

 
  $ 172,585  
 

 

 

 

 

 

20    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

 

Centrally Cleared Interest Rate Swaps

 

Paid by the Trust   

Received by the Trust

   Effective
Date
     Termination
Date
     Notional
Amount (000)
     Value      Upfront
Premium
Paid
(Received)
     Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 
Rate    Frequency    Rate    Frequency
3-Month LIBOR 2.81%    Quarterly    2.14%    Quarterly      N/A        02/28/22      USD     6,900      $ (59,881    $ 69      $ (59,950
                      

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

OTC Credit Default Swaps — Buy Protection

 

Reference Obligation/Index    Financing
Rate Paid
by the Trust
     Payment
Frequency
     Counterparty      Termination
Date
     Notional
Amount (000)
     Value      Upfront
Premium
Paid
(Received)
     Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 

Republic of Colombia

     1.00      Quarterly        Citibank N.A.        12/20/23        USD        733      $ 18,844      $ 5,618      $     13,226  
                    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

OTC Credit Default Swaps — Sell Protection

 

Reference Obligation/Index   Financing
Rate Received
by the Trust
    Payment
Frequency
    Counterparty   Termination
Date
    Credit
Rating
 (a)
  Notional
Amount (000)
 (b)
    Value     Upfront
Premium
Paid
(Received)
    Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 

CMBX.NA.9.BBB-

    3.00     Monthly     Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC     09/17/58     BBB-     USD       5,000     $ (603,854   $ (537,651   $ (66,203

CMBX.NA.9.BBB-

    3.00       Monthly     Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC     09/17/58     BBB-     USD       3,000       (362,312     (318,778     (43,534

CMBX.NA.9.BBB-

    3.00       Monthly     Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC     09/17/58     BBB-     USD       2,000       (241,542     (227,959     (13,583
               

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
                $ (1,207,708   $ (1,084,388   $ (123,320
               

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Using S&P’s rating of the issuer or the underlying securities of the index, as applicable.

 
  (b) 

The maximum potential amount the Trust may pay should a negative credit event take place as defined under the terms of the agreement.

 

Balances Reported in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities for Centrally Cleared Swaps and OTC Swaps

 

      Swap
Premiums
Paid
       Swap
Premiums
Received
       Unrealized
Appreciation
       Unrealized
Depreciation
 

Centrally Cleared Swaps(a)

   $ 69        $        $        $ (59,950

OTC Swaps

     5,618          (1,084,388        13,226          (123,320

 

  (a) 

Includes cumulative appreciation (depreciation) on centrally cleared swaps, as reported in the Schedule of Investments. Only current day’s variation margin is reported within the Statements of Assets and Liabilities and is net of any previously paid (received) swap premium amounts.

 

Derivative Financial Instruments Categorized by Risk Exposure

As of period end, the fair values of derivative financial instruments located in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities were as follows:

 

      Commodity
Contracts
     Credit
Contracts
     Equity
Contracts
     Foreign
Currency
Exchange
Contracts
     Interest
Rate
Contracts
     Other
Contracts
     Total  

Assets — Derivative Financial Instruments

                    

Futures contracts

                    

Net unrealized appreciation(a)

   $      $      $      $      $ 226,639      $      $ 226,639  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

                    

Unrealized appreciation on forward foreign currency exchange contracts

                          2,945                      2,945  

Options purchased

                    

Investments at value — unaffiliated(b)

                   27,000               172,585               199,585  

Swaps — OTC

                    

Unrealized appreciation on OTC swaps; Swap premiums paid

            18,844                                    18,844  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $      $ 18,844      $ 27,000      $ 2,945      $ 399,224      $      $ 448,013  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

SCHEDULES OF INVESTMENTS      21  


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

 

 

      Commodity
Contracts
     Credit
Contracts
     Equity
Contracts
     Foreign
Currency
Exchange
Contracts
     Interest
Rate
Contracts
     Other
Contracts
     Total  

Liabilities — Derivative Financial Instruments

                    

Futures contracts

                    

Net unrealized depreciation(a)

   $      $      $      $      $ 438,322      $      $ 438,322  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

                    

Unrealized depreciation on forward foreign currency exchange contracts

                          276,093                      276,093  

Swaps — centrally cleared

                    

Net unrealized depreciation(a)

                                 59,950               59,950  

Swaps — OTC

                    

Unrealized depreciation on OTC swaps; Swap premiums received

            1,207,708                                    1,207,708  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $      $ 1,207,708      $      $ 276,093      $ 498,272      $      $ 1,982,073  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Includes cumulative appreciation (depreciation) on futures contracts and centrally cleared swaps, if any, as reported in the Schedule of Investments. Only current day’s variation margin is reported within the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

 
  (b)

Includes options purchased at value as reported in the Schedule of Investments.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2018, the effect of derivative financial instruments in the Statements of Operations was as follows:

 

      Commodity
Contracts
     Credit
Contracts
     Equity
Contracts
     Foreign
Currency
Exchange
Contracts
     Interest
Rate
Contracts
     Other
Contracts
     Total  

Net Realized Gain (Loss) from:

                    

Futures contracts

   $      $      $      $      $ 1,752,922      $      $ 1,752,922  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

                          414,575                      414,575  

Options purchased(a)

                   (84,860             183,673               98,813  

Swaps

            306,819                      (33,679             273,140  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $      $ 306,819      $ (84,860    $ 414,575      $ 1,902,916      $      $ 2,539,450  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on:                                                 

Futures contracts

   $      $      $      $      $ (400,655    $      $ (400,655

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

                          (258,283                    (258,283

Options purchased(b)

                   2,016               63,226               65,242  

Swaps

            (106,726                    (39,197             (145,923
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $      $ (106,726    $ 2,016      $ (258,283    $ ($376,626    $      $ (739,619
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Includes options purchased at value as reported in the Schedule of Investments.

 
  (b) 

Options purchased are included in net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments.

 

Average Quarterly Balances of Outstanding Derivative Financial Instruments

 

Futures contracts:

 

Average notional value of contracts — long

   $ 47,699,086  

Average notional value of contracts — short

   $ 42,136,990  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts:

 

Average amounts purchased — in USD

   $ 8,277,634  

Average amounts sold — in USD

   $ 1,505,435  

Options:

 

Average value of option contracts purchased

   $ 11,051  

Average notional value of swaption contracts purchased

   $ 3,892,500  

Credit default swaps:

 

Average notional value — buy protection

   $ 549,750  

Average notional value — sell protection

   $ 10,000,000  

Interest rate swaps:

 

Average notional value — receives fixed rate

   $ 6,900,000  

For more information about the Trust’s investment risks regarding derivative financial instruments, refer to the Notes to Financial Statements.

 

 

22    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

 

Derivative Financial Instruments — Offsetting as of Period End

The Trust’s derivative assets and liabilities (by type) were as follows:

 

      Assets      Liabilities  

Futures contracts

   $      $ 21,573  

Swaps — Centrally cleared

     8,225         

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

     2,945        276,093  

Options

     199,585 (a)         

Swaps — OTC(b)

     18,844        1,207,708  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total derivative assets and liabilities in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities

   $ 229,599      $ 1,505,374  

Derivatives not subject to a Master Netting Agreement or similar agreement (“MNA”)

     (35,225      (21,573
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total derivative assets and liabilities subject to an MNA

   $ 194,374      $ 1,483,801  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Includes options purchased at value which is included in Investments at value—unaffiliated in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities and reported in the Schedule of Investments.

 
  (b) 

Includes unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on OTC swaps and swap premiums (paid/received) in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

 

The following table presents the Trust’s derivative assets (and liabilities) by counterparty net of amounts available for offset under an MNA and net of the related collateral received (and pledged) by the Trust:

 

Counterparty    Derivative
Assets
Subject to
an MNA by
Counterparty
       Derivatives
Available
for Offset
 (a)
       Non-cash
Collateral
Received
       Cash
Collateral
Received
 (b)
       Net Amount
of Derivative
Assets
  (c)
 

Bank of America N.A.

   $ 310        $        $        $        $ 310  

Citibank N.A.

     191,429          (917                 (190,512         

JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.

     2,635          (2,635                           
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 
   $ 194,374        $ (3,552      $        $ (190,512      $ 310  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

Counterparty    Derivative
Liabilities
Subject to
an MNA by
Counterparty
       Derivatives
Available
for Offset
 (a)
       Non-cash
Collateral
Pledged
       Cash
Collateral
Pledged
 (d)
       Net Amount
of Derivative
Liabilities
  (e)
 

BNP Paribas S.A.

   $ 123,010        $        $        $        $ 123,010  

Citibank N.A.

     917          (917                           

JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.

     48,970          (2,635                          46,335  

Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC

     1,220,513                            (1,030,000        190,513  

State Street Bank and Trust Co.

     2,881                                     2,881  

UBS AG

     87,510                                     87,510  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 
   $ 1,483,801        $ (3,552      $        $ (1,030,000      $ 450,249  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

The amount of derivatives available for offset is limited to the amount of derivative asset and/or liabilities that are subject to an MNA.

 
  (b) 

Excess of collateral received from the individual counterparty is not shown for financial reporting purposes.

 
  (c) 

Net amount represents the net amount receivable from the counterparty in the event of default.

 
  (d) 

Excess of collateral pledged to the individual counterparty is not shown for financial reporting purposes.

 
  (e) 

Net amount represents the net amount payable due to counterparty in the event of default. Net amount may be offset further by the options written receivable/payable on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

 

 

 

SCHEDULES OF INVESTMENTS      23  


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

 

Fair Value Hierarchy as of Period End

Various inputs are used in determining the fair value of investments and derivative financial instruments. For information about the Trust’s policy regarding valuation ofinvestments and derivative financial instruments, refer to the Notes to Financial Statements.

The following tables summarize the Trust’s investments and derivative financial instruments categorized in the disclosure hierarchy:

 

      Level 1        Level 2        Level 3        Total  

Assets:

 

Investments:

 

Long-Term Investments:

 

Asset-Backed Securities

   $        $ 43,627,976        $ 1,922,478        $ 45,550,454  

Corporate Bonds

     225,433          120,701,846          257,000          121,184,279  

Floating Rate Loan Interests

              8,291,441          7,867,669          16,159,110  

Foreign Agency Obligations

              9,533,801                   9,533,801  

Non-Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities

              35,802,529          1,228,227          37,030,756  

Preferred Securities

              7,479,857                   7,479,857  

U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities

              3,859,350                   3,859,350  

Short-Term Securities:

 

Money Market Funds

     2,363,454                            2,363,454  

Options Purchased

                 

Interest rate contracts

              172,585                   172,585  

Equity contracts

     27,000                            27,000  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 
   $ 2,615,887        $ 229,469,385        $ 11,275,374        $ 243,360,646  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Derivative Financial Instruments(a)

 

Assets:

 

Credit contracts

   $        $ 13,226        $        $ 13,226  

Forward foreign currency contracts

              2,945                   2,945  

Interest rate contracts

     226,639                            226,639  

Liabilities:

 

Credit contracts

              (123,320                 (123,320

Forward foreign currency contracts

              (276,093                 (276,093

Interest rate contracts

     (438,322        (59,950                 (498,272
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 
   $ (211,683      $ (443,192      $        $ (654,875
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Derivative financial instruments are swaps, futures contracts and forward foreign currency exchange contracts. Swaps, futures contracts and forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at the unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on the instrument.

 

The Trust may hold assets and/or liabilities in which the fair value approximates the carrying amount or face value, including accrued interest, for financial statement purposes. As of period end, reverse repurchase agreements of $50,976,488 are categorized as Level 2 within the disclosure hierarchy.

During the year ended December 31, 2018, there were no transfers between Level 1 and Level 2.

A reconciliation of Level 3 investments is presented when the Trust had a significant amount of Level 3 investments at the beginning and/or end of the period in relation to net assets. The following table is a reconciliation of Level 3 investments for which significant unobservable inputs were used in determining fair value:

 

      Asset-Backed
Securities
       Corporate
Bonds
       Floating Rate Loan
Interests
       Non-Agency
Mortgage-Backed
Securities
       Total  

Assets:

                      

Opening Balance, as of December 31, 2017

   $ 1,756,100        $        $ 3,677,617        $ 3,897,617        $ 9,331,334  

Transfers into Level 3

                                          

Transfers out of Level 3(a)

     (260,000                          (950,804        (1,210,804

Accrued discounts/premiums

                       5,993          (1,869        4,124  

Net realized gain (loss)

     202                   22,300          (196,638        (174,136

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)(b)(c)

     2,101                   (214,019        167,713          (44,205

Purchases

     501,597          257,000          7,744,024                   8,502,621  

Sales

     (77,522                 (3,368,246        (1,687,792        (5,133,560
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Closing Balance, as of December 31, 2018

   $ 1,922,478        $ 257,000        $ 7,867,669        $ 1,228,227        $ 11,275,374  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments still held at December 31, 2018(c)

   $ 2,101        $        $ (214,663      $ (10,396      $ (222,958
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

As of December 31, 2017, the Trust used significant unobservable inputs in determining the value of certain investments. As of December 31, 2018, the Trust used observable inputs in determining the value of the same investments. As a result, investments at beginning of period value were transferred from Level 3 to Level 2 in the disclosure hierarchy.

 
  (b) 

Included in the related net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) in the Statements of Operations.

 
  (c) 

Any difference between net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments still held at December 31, 2018 is generally due to investments no longer held or categorized as Level 3 at period end.

 

The Trust’s investments that are categorized as Level 3 were valued utilizing third party pricing information without adjustment. Such valuations are based on unobservable inputs. A significant change in third party information could result in a significantly lower or higher value of such Level 3 investments.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

24    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Schedule of Investments  

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock Income Trust, Inc. (BKT)

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Par
(000)
    Value  
Asset-Backed Securities — 0.0%  
Interest Only Asset-Backed Securities — 0.0%  

Small Business Administration Participation Certificates, Series 2000-1, 1.00%, 03/15/21(a)(b)

  $ 123     $ 1,083  

Sterling Bank Trust, Series 2004-2, Class Note, 2.08%, 03/30/30(a)(c)

    1,061       51,714  

Sterling Coofs Trust, Series 2004-1, Class A, 2.36%, 04/15/29(a)(b)(c)

    1,565       65,522  
   

 

 

 

Total Asset-Backed Securities — 0.0%
(Cost — $381,761)

 

    118,319  
 

 

 

 

Non-Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities — 3.7%

 

Collateralized Mortgage Obligations — 3.1%  

Deutsche Securities, Inc. Mortgage Alternate Loan Trust, Series 2006-AR5, Class 22A, 5.50%, 10/25/21

    66       64,124  

Kidder Peabody Acceptance Corp., Series 1993-1, Class A6, (1 mo. LIBOR + 16.62%), 11.97%, 08/25/23(d)

    25       26,557  

Seasoned Credit Risk Transfer Trust, Class MA:

   

Series 2018-2, 3.50%, 11/25/57

    1,660       1,664,250  

Series 2018-3, 3.50%, 08/25/57

    2,272       2,278,154  

Series 2018-4, 3.50%, 03/25/58

    7,864       7,867,693  

Structured Adjustable Rate Mortgage Loan Trust, Series 2004-11, Class A, 4.18%, 08/25/34(b)

    491       477,717  
   

 

 

 
      12,378,495  
Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities — 0.5%  

CSAIL 2018-C14 Commercial Mortgage Trust, Series 2018-C14, Class XA, 0.57%, 11/15/51(b)

    2,400       102,675  

CSAIL Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust, Series 2018-CX11, Class A5, 4.03%, 04/15/51(b)

    1,170       1,194,449  

Natixis Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust, Series 2018-FL1, Class A, 3.26%, 06/15/35(b)(c)

    310       306,170  

Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Trust, Series 2018-C44, Class XA, 0.76%, 05/15/51(b)

    5,104       277,962  
   

 

 

 
      1,881,256  
Interest Only Collateralized Mortgage Obligations — 0.0%  

CitiMortgage Alternative Loan Trust, Series 2007-A5, Class 1A7, 6.00%, 05/25/37

    306       68,784  

IndyMac INDX Mortgage Loan Trust, Series 2006-AR33, Class 4AX, 0.17%, 01/25/37

    34,008       340  

Morgan Stanley Mortgage Loan Trust, Series 2004-3, Class 1AX, 5.00%, 05/25/19

    1       5  

Vendee Mortgage Trust, Series 1999-2, Class 1, 0.05%, 05/15/29(b)

    17,185       17  
   

 

 

 
      69,146  
Principal Only Collateralized Mortgage Obligations — 0.1%  

Countrywide Home Loan Mortgage Pass-Through Trust, Series 2003-J8, 0.00%, 09/25/23(e)

    15       13,512  

Residential Asset Securitization Trust, Series 2005-A15, Class 1A8, 0.00%, 02/25/36(e)

    225       191,601  

Washington Mutual Alternative Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2005-9, Class CP, 0.00%, 11/25/35(e)

    96       70,191  
   

 

 

 
      275,304  
   

 

 

 

Total Non-Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities — 3.7%
(Cost — $14,647,592)

 

    14,604,201  
 

 

 

 

U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities — 145.9%

 

Agency Obligations — 2.6%  

Federal Housing Administration(a):

   

USGI Projects, Series 99, 7.43%, 06/01/21 - 10/01/23

    1,457       1,390,429  

Merrill Lynch Projects, Series 54, 7.43%, 05/15/23

    1        
Security   Par
(000)
    Value  
Agency Obligations (continued)  

Residual Funding Corp., 0.00%, 04/15/30(e)

  $ 13,000     $ 9,086,347  
   

 

 

 
      10,476,776  
Collateralized Mortgage Obligations — 68.5%  

Fannie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities:

   

Series 2017-76, Class PB, 3.00%, 10/25/57

    3,415       3,099,563  

Series 2010-136, Class CY, 4.00%, 12/25/40

    3,060       3,194,473  

Series 2011-8, Class ZA, 4.00%, 02/25/41

    6,297       6,494,933  

Series 2011-117, Class CP, 4.00%, 11/25/41

    14,351       14,991,757  

Series 2012-104, Class QD, 4.00%, 09/25/42

    1,639       1,718,888  

Series 2018-50, Class EB, 4.00%, 07/25/48

    2,001       2,097,809  

Series 2018-32, Class PS, 4.31%, 05/25/48(b)

    8,734       8,957,613  

Series 2010-134, Class DB, 4.50%, 12/25/40

    7,000       7,614,675  

Series 2011-99, Class CB, 4.50%, 10/25/41

    43,000       46,571,343  

Series 2010-47, Class JB, 5.00%, 05/25/30

    6,934       7,292,474  

Series 2003-135, Class PB, 6.00%, 01/25/34

    3,982       4,081,488  

Series 2004-31, Class ZG, 7.50%, 05/25/34

    4,925       5,816,224  

Series 2004-31, Class SD, (1 mo. LIBOR + 12.75%), 8.49%, 04/25/34(d)

    2,194       2,414,336  

Series 1993-247, Class SN, (11th District Cost of Funds + 63.85%), 10.00%, 12/25/23(d)

    57       65,313  

Series 2005-73, Class DS, (1 mo. LIBOR + 17.55%), 11.03%, 08/25/35(d)

    184       205,047  

Series 1991-87, Class S, (1 mo. LIBOR + 26.68%), 20.04%, 08/25/21(d)

    3       2,953  

Series G-49, Class S, (1 mo. LIBOR + 1034.80%), 774.15%, 12/25/21(d)

    (f)       4  

Series G-07, Class S, (1 mo. LIBOR + 1151.68%), 861.88%, 03/25/21(d)

    (f)       43  

Freddie Mac Mortgage-Backed Securities:

   

Series T-11, Class A9, 3.13%, 01/25/28(b)

    517       524,598  

Series 4384, Class LB, 3.50%, 08/15/43

    5,100       5,158,048  

Series 4748, Class BM, 3.50%, 11/15/47

    3,351       3,331,951  

Series 3745, Class ZA, 4.00%, 10/15/40

    1,205       1,268,990  

Series 3762, Class LN, 4.00%, 11/15/40

    2,000       2,076,299  

Series 3780, Class ZA, 4.00%, 12/15/40

    2,275       2,412,286  

Series 4269, Class PM, 4.00%, 08/15/41

    8,884       9,424,334  

Series 4016, Class BX, 4.00%, 09/15/41

    15,408       16,266,506  

Series 3960, Class PL, 4.00%, 11/15/41

    2,859       3,004,238  

Series 4299, Class JY, 4.00%, 01/15/44

    1,000       1,041,635  

Series 4026, Class IO, 4.50%, 04/15/32

    1,870       244,370  

Series 3688, Class PB, 4.50%, 08/15/32

    4,785       4,813,811  

Series 2731, Class ZA, 4.50%, 01/15/34

    3,709       3,869,068  

Series 4316, Class VB, 4.50%, 03/15/34

    10,787       11,303,494  

Series 4615, Class LB, 4.50%, 09/15/41

    8,000       8,808,702  

Series 3963, Class JB, 4.50%, 11/15/41

    800       873,700  

Series 4774, Class L, 4.50%, 03/15/48

    10,000       10,786,323  

Series 3856, Class PB, 5.00%, 05/15/41

    10,000       10,799,823  

Series 2927, Class BZ, 5.50%, 02/15/35

    4,433       4,850,289  

Series 2542, Class UC, 6.00%, 12/15/22

    849       867,714  

Series 0040, Class K, 6.50%, 08/17/24

    57       60,917  

Series 2218, Class Z, 8.50%, 03/15/30

    1,285       1,464,012  

Series 1160, Class F, (1 mo. LIBOR + 40.16%), 29.73%, 10/15/21(d)

    2       2,492  

Ginnie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities:

   

Series 2010-099, Class JM, 3.75%, 12/20/38

    7,193       7,206,822  

Series 2010-112, Class TL, 4.00%, 01/20/39

    7,267       7,307,827  

Series 2011-80, Class PB, 4.00%, 10/20/39

    6,872       6,948,229  

Series 2012-16, Class HJ, 4.00%, 09/20/40

    10,000       10,249,748  

Series 2011-88, Class PY, 4.00%, 06/20/41

    15,402       15,670,120  

Series 2015-96, Class ZM, 4.00%, 07/20/45

    7,195       7,689,293  

Series 2004-89, Class PE, 6.00%, 10/20/34

    12       12,350  
   

 

 

 
      272,956,925  
 

 

 

SCHEDULES OF INVESTMENTS      25  


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock Income Trust, Inc. (BKT)

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Par
(000)
    Value  
Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities — 0.8%  

Fannie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities:

   

Series 2015-M1, Class X2, 0.55%, 09/25/24(b)

  $ 37,520     $ 942,022  

Series K079, Class A2, 3.93%, 06/25/28

    1,115       1,165,090  

Freddie Mac, Series K076, Class A2, 3.90%, 04/25/28

    1,025       1,069,346  

Ginnie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities, Series 2017-64, Class IO, 0.72%, 11/16/57(b)

    3,410       226,814  
   

 

 

 
      3,403,272  
Interest Only Collateralized Mortgage Obligations — 12.5%  

Fannie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities:

   

Series 1997-50, Class SI, (1 mo. LIBOR + 9.20%), 1.20%, 04/25/23(d)

    46       851  

Series G92-60, Class SB, (11th District Cost of Funds + 9.35%), 1.60%, 10/25/22(d)

    22       495  

Series 2013-10, Class PI, 3.00%, 02/25/43(a)

    10,793       1,104,406  

Series 2018-21, Class IO, 3.00%, 04/25/48

    20,764       3,911,016  

Series 2011-134, Class ST, (1 mo. LIBOR + 6.00%), 3.49%, 12/25/41(d)

    10,837       1,626,270  

Series 2016-81, Class CS, (1 mo. LIBOR + 6.10%), 3.59%, 11/25/46(d)

    8,392       1,097,055  

Series 2017-70, Class SA, 3.64%, 09/25/47(b)

    43,454       7,859,666  

Series 2015-66, Class AS, (1 mo. LIBOR + 6.25%), 3.74%, 09/25/45(d)

    48,926       6,695,741  

Series 2011-100, Class S, (1 mo. LIBOR + 6.45%), 3.94%, 10/25/41(d)

    2,544       385,153  

Series 2012-96, Class DI, 4.00%, 02/25/27

    2,184       147,018  

Series 2013-45, Class EI, 4.00%, 04/25/43

    4,730       836,975  

Series 2006-36, Class PS, (1 mo. LIBOR + 6.60%), 4.09%, 05/25/36(d)

    5,114       731,244  

Series 2011-124, Class GS, (1 mo. LIBOR + 6.70%), 4.19%, 03/25/37(d)

    2,864       95,039  

Series 2010-74, Class DI, 5.00%, 12/25/39

    1,393       45,624  

Series 2016-64, Class BI, 5.00%, 09/25/46

    10,554       2,096,725  

Series 1997-90, Class M, 6.00%, 01/25/28

    812       81,735  

Series 1999-W4, Class IO, 6.50%, 12/25/28

    81       7,000  

Series G92-05, Class H, 9.00%, 01/25/22

    (f)       10  

Series 094, Class 2, 9.50%, 08/25/21

    (f)       18  

Series 1990-136, Class S, (1 mo. LIBOR + 17.60%), 17.58%, 11/25/20(d)

    1       1  

Freddie Mac Mortgage-Backed Securities:

   

Series 2559, Class IO, 0.50%, 08/15/30(b)

    10       19  

Series 3923, Class SD, (1 mo. LIBOR + 6.00%), 3.54%, 09/15/41(d)

    43,957       6,724,331  

Series 3954, Class SL, (1 mo. LIBOR + 6.00%), 3.54%, 11/15/41(d)

    24,742       3,841,254  

Series 4611, Class BS, (1 mo. LIBOR + 6.10%), 3.64%, 06/15/41(d)

    19,179       2,612,790  

Series 3745, Class IN, 4.00%, 01/15/35

    1,474       9,545  

Series 3744, Class PI, 4.00%, 06/15/39

    6,131       687,898  

Series 3796, Class WS, (1 mo. LIBOR + 6.55%), 4.09%, 02/15/40(d)

    4,088       348,788  

Series 2611, Class QI, 5.50%, 09/15/32

    22       51  

Series 1043, Class H, (1 mo. LIBOR + 45.00%), 33.95%, 02/15/21(d)

    1       1  

Ginnie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities:

   

Series 2013-63, Class IO, 0.79%, 09/16/51(b)

    12,154       639,334  

Series 2014-169, Class IO, 0.83%, 10/16/56(b)

    31,798       1,556,232  

Series 2016-119, Class IO, 1.12%, 04/16/58(b)

    19,894       1,648,268  

Series 2016-113, Class IO, 1.19%, 02/16/58(b)

    10,081       915,274  

Series 2012-97, Class JS, (1 mo. LIBOR + 6.25%), 3.79%, 08/16/42(d)

    14,228       1,651,179  

Series 2009-116, Class KS, (1 mo. LIBOR + 6.47%), 4.01%, 12/16/39(d)

    874       111,491  
Security   Par
(000)
    Value  
Interest Only Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (continued)  

Series 2011-52, Class MJ, (1 mo. LIBOR + 6.65%), 4.18%, 04/20/41(d)

  $ 6,895     $ 914,442  

Series 2011-52, Class NS, (1 mo. LIBOR + 6.67%), 4.21%, 04/16/41(d)

    8,202       1,300,611  
   

 

 

 
      49,683,550  
Mortgage-Backed Securities — 61.4%  

Fannie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities:

   

2.50%, 01/01/34(g)

    180       175,785  

3.00%, 01/01/19(g)

    16,800       16,375,031  

3.50%, 01/01/19(g)

    764       763,866  

4.00%, 01/01/41 - 01/01/57(h)

    110,539       113,234,329  

4.50%, 08/01/25 - 09/01/41(h)

    39,970       41,842,931  

5.00%, 01/01/23 - 04/01/48(h)

    40,899       43,162,335  

5.50%, 01/01/21 - 10/01/39(h)

    8,701       9,373,058  

6.50%, 12/01/37 - 10/01/39(h)

    3,139       3,546,291  

7.50%, 02/01/22

    (f)       1  

9.50%, 09/01/19

    (f)       68  

Freddie Mac Mortgage-Backed Securities:

   

5.00%, 02/01/22 - 04/01/22

    61       62,809  

5.50%, 01/01/39(h)

    11,963       12,902,512  

9.00%, 09/01/20

    (f)       489  

Ginnie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities:

   

5.00%, 10/15/39

    3,018       3,212,376  

7.50%, 01/15/23 - 11/15/23

    38       37,906  

8.00%, 10/15/22 - 08/15/27

    21       21,963  

9.00%, 04/15/20 - 09/15/21

    (f)       931  
   

 

 

 
      244,712,681  
Principal Only Collateralized Mortgage Obligations — 0.1%  

Fannie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities(e):

   

Series 1991-7, Class J, 0.00%, 02/25/21

    (f)       430  

Series G93-2, Class KB, 0.00%, 01/25/23

    27       26,060  

Series 1993-51, Class E, 0.00%, 02/25/23

    9       8,503  

Series 203, Class 1, 0.00%, 02/25/23

    3       2,573  

Series 1993-70, Class A, 0.00%, 05/25/23

    2       1,457  

Series 0228, Class 1, 0.00%, 06/25/23

    2       2,318  

Series 1999-W4, 0.00%, 02/25/29

    38       34,762  

Series 2002-13, Class PR, 0.00%, 03/25/32

    68       60,836  

Freddie Mac Mortgage-Backed Securities(e):

   

Series 1418, Class M, 0.00%, 11/15/22

    9       8,449  

Series 1571, Class G, 0.00%, 08/15/23

    74       69,938  

Series 1691, Class B, 0.00%, 03/15/24

    157       145,856  

Series T-8, Class A10, 0.00%, 11/15/28

    8       8,173  
   

 

 

 
      369,355  
   

 

 

 

Total U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities — 145.9%
(Cost — $607,303,965)

 

    581,602,559  
 

 

 

 

Total Long-Term Investments — 149.6%
(Cost — $622,333,318)

 

    596,325,079  
 

 

 

 
     Shares         
Short-Term Securities — 1.8%  

Money Market Funds— 1.6%

 

BlackRock Liquidity Funds, T-Fund, Institutional Class, 2.32%(i)(l)

    6,469,268     $ 6,469,268  
   

 

 

 

Total Money Market Funds— 1.6%
(Cost — $6,469,268)

 

    6,469,268  
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

26    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock Income Trust, Inc. (BKT)

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Par
(000)
    Value  
Borrowed Bond Agreement(j)(k) — 0.2%  

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, 3.55%, Open (Purchased on 8/7/18 to be repurchased at $ 878,119. Collateralized by U.S. Treasury Bonds, 2.75%, due 11/15/42, par and fair values of $917,000 and $876,774, respectively)

  $ 871     $ 871,150  
   

 

 

 

Total Borrowed Bond Agreement — 0.2%
(Cost — $871,150)

 

    871,150  
 

 

 

 

Total Short-Term Securities — 1.8%
(Cost — $7,340,418)

 

    7,340,418  
 

 

 

 

Total Investments Before Borrowed Bonds and TBA Sale Commitments — 151.4%
(Cost — $629,673,736)

 

    603,665,497  
 

 

 

 
Borrowed Bonds  

U.S. Treasury Bonds, 2.75%, 11/15/42

    (917     (876,774
   

 

 

 

Total Borrowed Bonds — (0.2)%
(Proceeds — $842,347)

 

    (876,774
   

 

 

 

TBA Sale Commitments(g) — (19.3%)

 

Mortgage-Backed Securities — (19.3%)

 

Fannie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities:

   

3.00%, 01/01/49 - 02/01/49

    43,627       (42,513,329

4.00%, 01/01/49

    20,500       (20,897,188

5.00%, 01/01/49

    12,900       (13,511,742
   

 

 

 

Total TBA Sale Commitments — (19.3)%
(Proceeds — $75,330,696)

 

    (76,922,259
 

 

 

 

Total Investments, Net of Borrowed Bonds and TBA Sale Commitments — 131.9%
(Cost — $553,500,693)

 

    525,866,464  

Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets — (31.9)%

 

    (127,237,406
 

 

 

 

Net Assets — 100.0%

 

  $ 398,629,058  
 

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Security is valued using significant unobservable inputs and is classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy.

(b) 

Variable or floating rate security, which interest rate adjusts periodically based on changes in current interest rates and prepayments on the underlying pool of assets. Rate shown is the rate in effect as of period end.

(c) 

Security exempt from registration pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. These securities may be resold in transactions exempt from registration to qualified institutional investors.

(d) 

Variable rate security. Rate shown is the rate in effect as of period end.

(e) 

Zero-coupon bond.

(f) 

Amount is less than $500.

(g) 

Represents or includes a TBA transaction.

(h) 

All or a portion of the security has been pledged as collateral in connection with outstanding reverse repurchase agreements.

(i) 

Annualized 7-day yield as of period end.

(j) 

Certain agreements have no stated maturity and can be terminated by either party at any time.

(k) 

The amount to be repurchased assumes the maturity will be the day after period end.

 
(l) 

During the period ended December 31, 2018, investments in issuers considered to an affiliate of the Trust for purposes of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, were as follows:

 

Affiliate    Shares
Held at
08/31/18
     Net
Activity
     Shares
Held at
12/31/18
     Value at
12/31/18
     Income      Net
Realized
Gain (Loss)
 (a)
     Change in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 

BlackRock Liquidity Funds, T-Fund, Institutional Class

     12,647,934        (6,178,666      6,469,268      $ 6,469,268      $ 50,275      $      $  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Includes net capital gain distributions, if applicable.

 

For Trust compliance purposes, the industry classifications refer to one or more of the industry sub-classifications used by one or more widely recognized market indexes or rating group indexes, and/or as defined by the investment adviser. These definitions may not apply for purposes of this report, which may combine such industry sub-classifications for reporting ease.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements

 

Counterparty   Interest
Rate
    Trade
Date
    Maturity
Date
 (a)
    Face Value     Face Value
Including
Accrued Interest
    Type of Non-Cash
Underlying Collateral
  Remaining Contractual
Maturity of the Agreements
 (a)

BNP Paribas SA

    2.52     11/09/18       1/14/19     $ 2,124,400     $ 2,131,687     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

BNP Paribas SA

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       2,553,800       2,562,559     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

BNP Paribas SA

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       2,366,200       2,374,316     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

BNP Paribas SA

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       2,127,800       2,137,121     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

BNP Paribas SA

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       2,203,400       2,210,958     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.

    2.67       12/11/18       1/14/19       12,537,000       12,554,667     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.

    2.67       12/11/18       1/14/19       1,009,000       1,010,422     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

 

 

SCHEDULES OF INVESTMENTS      27  


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock Income Trust, Inc. (BKT)

 

Reverse Repurchase Agreements (continued)

 

Counterparty   Interest
Rate
    Trade
Date
    Maturity
Date
 (a)
    Face Value     Face Value
Including
Accrued Interest
    Type of Non-Cash
Underlying Collateral
  Remaining Contractual
Maturity of the Agreements
 (a)

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52     11/09/18       1/14/19     $ 3,576,300     $ 3,588,567     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       14,395,700       14,445,077     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       17,738,700       17,799,544     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       7,844,700       7,871,607     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       7,739,300       7,765,846     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       9,760,200       9,793,677     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       44,810,300       44,963,999     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       2,746,000       2,755,419     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       6,629,700       6,652,440     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       18,719,200       18,783,407     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       3,483,200       3,495,147     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       5,811,800       5,831,734     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       6,285,200       6,306,758     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       4,592,900       4,608,654     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       4,533,100       4,548,649     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

    2.52       11/09/18       1/14/19       2,597,600       2,606,510     U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities   Up to 90 Days
       

 

 

   

 

 

     
  $ 186,185,500     $ 186,798,765      
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

  (a) 

Certain agreements have no stated maturity and can be terminated by either party at any time.

 

Derivative Financial Instruments Outstanding as of Period End

Futures Contracts

 

Description    Number of
Contracts
       Expiration
Date
       Notional
Amount (000)
      

Value/
Unrealized
Appreciation

(Depreciation)

 

Long Contracts:

                 

10-Year U.S. Treasury Note

     73          03/20/19        $ 8,907        $ 208,129  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Short Contracts:

                 

90-Day Euro Dollar

     94          03/18/19          22,863          92,216  

10-Year U.S. Ultra Long Treasury

     204          03/20/19          26,536          (826,320

Long U.S. Treasury Bond

     295          03/20/19          43,070          (2,006,220

5-Year U.S. Treasury Note

     895          03/29/19          102,645          (1,589,499

90-Day Euro-Dollar

     63          06/17/19          15,327          19,432  

90-Day Euro-Dollar

     53          09/16/19          12,898          (14,505

90-Day Euro-Dollar

     48          12/16/19          11,682          (31,207

90-Day Euro Future

     40          03/16/20          9,745          (44,114

90-Day Euro-Dollar

     93          06/15/20          22,670          (119,856

90-Day Euro Future

     93          09/14/20          22,679          (159,381
                 

 

 

 
                    (4,679,454
                 

 

 

 
                  $ (4,471,325
                 

 

 

 

OTC Interest Rate Swaps

 

Paid by the Trust

 

Received by the Trust

  Counterparty   Effective
Date
    Termination
Date
     Notional
Amount (000)
    Value    

Upfront

Premium
Paid
(Received)

    Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 
Rate   Frequency   Rate   Frequency
3-Month LIBOR, 2.81%   Quarterly   3.43  

Semi-Annual

  JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.     N/A       03/28/21        USD       6,000     $ 153,953     $ (64,731   $ 218,684  
3-Month LIBOR, 2.81%   Quarterly   5.41  

Semi-Annual

  JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.     N/A       08/15/22        USD       9,565       1,102,906             1,102,906  
                  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
                   $ 1,256,859     $ (64,731   $ 1,321,590  
                  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balances Reported in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities for OTC Derivatives

 

      Swap
Premiums
Paid
     Swap
Premiums
Received
     Unrealized
Appreciation
     Unrealized
Depreciation
 

OTC Swaps

   $      $ (64,731    $ 1,321,590      $  

 

 

28    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock Income Trust, Inc. (BKT)

 

Derivative Financial Instruments Categorized by Risk Exposure

As of period end, the fair values of derivative financial instruments located in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities as follows:

 

      Commodity
Contracts
     Credit
Contracts
     Equity
Contracts
     Foreign
Currency
Exchange
Contracts
     Interest
Rate
Contracts
     Other
Contracts
     Total  

Assets — Derivative Financial Instruments

                    

Futures contracts

                    

Net unrealized appreciation(a)

   $      $      $      $      $ 319,777      $      $ 319,777  

Swaps — OTC

                    

Unrealized appreciation on OTC swaps

                                 1,321,590               1,321,590  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $      $      $      $      $ 1,641,367      $      $ 1,641,367  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Liabilities — Derivative Financial Instruments

                    

Futures contracts

                    

Net unrealized depreciation(a)

   $      $      $      $      $ 4,791,102      $      $ 4,791,102  

Swaps — OTC

                    

Unrealized depreciation on OTC swaps; Swap premiums received

                                 64,731               64,731  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $      $      $      $      $ 4,855,833      $      $ 4,855,833  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Includes cumulative appreciation (depreciation) on futures contracts, if any, as reported in the Schedule of Investments. Only current day’s variation margin is reported within the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

 

For the period ended December 31, 2018, the effect of derivative financial instruments in the Statements of Operations was as follows:

 

      Commodity
Contracts
     Credit
Contracts
     Equity
Contracts
     Foreign
Currency
Exchange
Contracts
     Interest
Rate
Contracts
     Other
Contracts
     Total  

Net Realized Gain (Loss) from:

                    

Futures contracts

   $      $      $      $      $ 2,102,330      $      $ 2,102,330  

Swaps

                                 (940,649             (940,649
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $      $      $      $      $ 1,161,681      $      $ 1,161,681  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on:

                    

Futures contracts

   $      $      $      $      $ (4,756,117    $      $ (4,756,117

Swaps

                                 1,101,485               1,101,485  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $      $      $      $      $ (3,654,632    $      $ (3,654,632
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Average Quarterly Balances of Outstanding Derivative Financial Instruments

 

Futures contracts:

 

Average notional value of contracts purchased

   $ 10,452,023  

Average notional value of contracts sold

   $ 295,048,554  

Interest rate swaps:

 

Average notional value — pay fixed rate

   $ 30,000,000  

Average notional value — receives fixed rate

   $ 15,565,000  

Derivative Financial Instruments — Offsetting as of Period End

For more information about the Trust’s investment risks regarding derivative financial instruments, refer to the Notes to Financial Statements.

 

      Assets        Liabilities  

Futures contracts

   $ 28,516        $ 475,754  

Swaps — OTC(a)

     1,321,590          64,731  
  

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total derivative assets and liabilities in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities

   $ 1,350,106        $ 540,485  

Derivatives not subject to a Master Netting Agreement or similar agreement (“MNA”)

     (28,516        (475,754
  

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total derivative assets and liabilities subject to an MNA

   $ 1,321,590        $ 64,731  
  

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Includes unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on OTC swaps and swap premiums (paid/received) in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

 

 

 

SCHEDULES OF INVESTMENTS      29  


Schedule of Investments  (continued)

December 31, 2018

  

BlackRock Income Trust, Inc. (BKT)

 

The following table presents the Trust’s derivative assets (and liabilities) by counterparty net of amounts available for offset under an MNA and net of the related collateral received (and pledged) by the Trust:

 

Counterparty    Derivative
Assets
Subject to
an MNA by
Counterparty
       Derivatives
Available
for Offset
 (a)
       Non-cash
Collateral
Received
       Cash
Collateral
Received
 (b)
       Net Amount
of Derivative
Assets
  (c)
 

JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.

   $ 1,321,590        $ (64,731      $        $ (1,010,000      $ 246,859  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

Counterparty    Derivative
Liabilities
Subject to
an MNA by
Counterparty
       Derivatives
Available
for Offset
 (a)
       Non-cash
Collateral
Pledged
       Cash
Collateral
Pledged
       Net Amount
of Derivative
Liabilities
 

JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.

   $ 64,731        $ (64,731      $        $        $  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

The amount of derivatives available for offset is limited to the amount of derivative asset and/or liabilities that are subject to an MNA.

 
  (b) 

Excess of collateral received from the individual counterparty is not shown for financial reporting purposes.

 
  (c) 

Net amount represents the net amount receivable from the counterparty in the event of default.

 

Fair Value Hierarchy as of Period End

Various inputs are used in determining the fair value of investments and derivative financial instruments. For information about the Trust’s policy regarding valuation of investments and derivative financial instruments, refer to the Notes to Financial Statements.

The following tables summarize the Trust’s investments and derivative financial instruments categorized in the disclosure hierarchy:

 

      Level 1        Level 2        Level 3        Total  

Assets:

 

Investments:

 

Long-Term Investments:

 

Asset-Backed Securities

   $        $        $ 118,319        $ 118,319  

Non-Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities

              14,604,201                   14,604,201  

U.S. Government Sponsored Agency Securities

              580,212,130          1,390,429          581,602,559  

Short-Term Securities:

 

Money Market Funds

     6,469,268                            6,469,268  

Borrowed Bond Agreement

              871,150                   871,150  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 
   $ 6,469,268        $ 595,687,481        $ 1,508,748        $ 603,665,497  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Liabilities:

 

Investments:

 

Borrowed Bonds

   $        $ (876,774      $        $ (876,774

TBA Sale Commitments

              (76,922,259                 (76,922,259
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 
   $ 6,469,268        $ 517,888,448        $ 1,508,748        $ 525,866,464  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Derivative Financial Instruments(a)

 

Assets:

 

Interest rate contracts

   $ 319,777        $ 1,321,590        $        $ 1,641,367  

Liabilities:

 

Interest rate contracts

     (4,791,102                          (4,791,102
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 
   $ (4,471,325      $ 1,321,590        $        $ (3,149,735
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Derivative financial instruments are swaps and futures contracts. Swaps and futures contracts are valued at the unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on the instrument.

 

The Trust may hold assets and/or liabilities in which the fair value approximates the carrying amount for financial statement purposes. As of period end, reverse repurchase agreements of $186,798,765 are categorized as Level 2 within the disclosure hierarchy.

During the period ended December 31, 2018, there were no transfers between levels.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

30    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Statements of Assets and Liabilities

December 31, 2018

 

     BGIO     BKT  

ASSETS

 

Investments at value — unaffiliated(a)

  $ 240,997,192     $ 597,196,229  

Investments at value — affiliated(b)

    2,363,454       6,469,268  

Cash

    43,062        

Cash pledged:

 

Collateral — OTC derivatives

    1,030,000        

Centrally cleared swaps

    86,000        

Futures contracts

    73,000       1,781,260  

Collateral — reverse repurchase agreements

          216,000  

Foreign currency at value(c)

    2,267,939        

Receivables:

 

Interest — unaffiliated

    3,564,661       2,307,951  

Investments sold

    2,078,037       101,084  

TBA sale commitments

          75,330,696  

Dividends — affiliated

    3,919       13,666  

Variation margin on futures contracts

          28,516  

Principal paydowns

    9,850        

Variation margin on centrally cleared swaps

    8,225        

Swap premiums paid

    5,618        

Unrealized appreciation on:

 

OTC derivatives

    13,226       1,321,590  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

    2,945        

Prepaid expenses

    1,388       2,506  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

    252,548,516       684,768,766  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

 

Bank overdraft

          51,186  

Reverse repurchase agreements at value

    50,976,488       186,798,765  

Borrowed bonds at value(d)

          876,774  

Cash received:

 

Collateral — OTC derivatives

    270,000       1,010,000  

Collateral — TBA commitments

          11,000  

Payables:

 

Income dividend distributions

    1,106,444       2,194,621  

Investments purchased

    182,662       17,102,508  

Administration fees

          50,647  

Investment advisory fees

    125,576       219,263  

Trustees’ and Officer’s fees

    4,626       222,402  

Interest expense

          3,274  

Variation margin on futures contracts

    21,573       475,754  

Other accrued expenses

    104,917       136,524  

Swap premiums received

    1,084,388       64,731  

Unrealized depreciation on:

   

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

    276,093        

OTC derivatives

    123,320        

TBA sale commitments at value(e)

          76,922,259  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

    54,276,087       286,139,708  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

  $ 198,272,429     $ 398,629,058  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS CONSIST OF

 

Paid-in capital(f)(g)(h)

  $ 217,531,215     $ 473,431,433  

Accumulated loss

    (19,258,786     (74,802,375
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

  $ 198,272,429     $ 398,629,058  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value

  $ 8.96     $ 6.25  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

(a) Investments at cost — unaffiliated

  $ 254,238,377     $ 623,204,468  

(b) Investments at cost — affiliated

  $ 2,363,454     $ 6,469,268  

(c) Foreign currency at cost

  $ 2,279,291     $  

(d) Proceeds received from borrowed bonds

  $     $ 842,347  

(e) Proceeds from TBA sale commitments

  $     $ 75,330,696  

(f)  Shares outstanding

    22,128,879       63,797,112  

(g) Shares authorized

    Unlimited       200 million  

(h) Par value

  $ 0.001     $ 0.010  

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS      31  


Statements of Operations

 

    BGIO           BKT  
     Year Ended
December 31, 2018
   

 

    Period from
09/01/18 to
12/31/18
    Year Ended
August 31, 2018
 

INVESTMENT INCOME

       

Interest — unaffiliated

  $ 17,237,164       $ 8,100,130     $ 22,674,248  

Dividends — affiliated

    108,208         50,275       118,341  

Other income

    114,381                

Foreign taxes withheld

    (119,257              
 

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total investment income

    17,340,496         8,150,405       22,792,589  
 

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

EXPENSES

       

Investment advisory

    1,645,027         860,616       2,689,664  

Administration

            198,604       620,692  

Professional

    87,059         154,826       583,112  

Accounting services

    43,925         31,887       75,998  

Custodian

    50,961         6,475       35,741  

Transfer agent

    25,028         57,449       162,189  

Printing

    22,137         21,198       36,716  

Trustees and Officer

    19,832         380       51,461  

Registration

    9,535         8,317       24,693  

Miscellaneous

    68,038         19,198       51,801  
 

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total expenses excluding interest expense

    1,971,542         1,358,950       4,332,067  

Interest expense

    1,543,988         1,436,360       3,086,646  
 

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total expenses

    3,515,530         2,795,310       7,418,713  

Less fees waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager

    (4,771       (1,854     (6,397
 

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed

    3,510,759         2,793,456       7,412,316  
 

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net investment income

    13,829,737         5,356,949       15,380,273  
 

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS)

       

Net realized gain (loss) from:

       

Investments — unaffiliated

    (8,082,588       721,822       (4,444,304

Futures contracts

    1,752,922         2,102,330       5,546,062  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

    414,575                

Foreign currency transactions

    (119,186              

Capital gain distributions from investment companies — affiliated

                  27  

Payment from affiliate

    1,387 (a)                

Swaps

    273,140         (940,649     (1,098,205
 

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 
    (5,759,750       1,883,503       3,580  
 

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:

 

Investments — unaffiliated

    (16,701,884       3,252,838       (23,492,557

Futures contracts

    (400,655       (4,756,117     887,828  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

    (258,283              

Foreign currency translations

    (4,372              

Swaps

    (145,923       1,101,485       773,110  

Borrowed bonds

            430       50,936  
 

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 
    (17,511,117       (401,364     (21,780,683
 

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    (23,270,867       1,482,139       (21,777,103
 

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS

  $ (9,441,130     $ 6,839,088     $ (6,396,830
 

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Includes a payment by an affiliate of $1,387 to compensate for a trade operating error.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

32    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

    BGIO  
     Year Ended
December 31, 2018
   

Period from

02/27/17 (a) to

12/31/17

 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS

 

OPERATIONS

 

Net investment income

  $ 13,829,737     $ 10,989,289  

Net realized gain (loss)

    (5,759,750     342,258  

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

    (17,511,117     3,604,321  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    (9,441,130     14,935,868  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

DISTRIBUTIONS(b)(c)

 

Decrease in net assets resulting from distributions to shareholders

    (13,277,327     (11,476,197
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

 

Net proceeds from the issuance of shares(d)

          206,850,000  

Net proceeds from the underwriter’s over allotment option exercised(e)

          10,624,952  

Reinvestment of common distributions

          321,692  

Capital charges with respect to the issuance of shares

          (365,431
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets derived from capital share transactions

          217,431,213  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS(c)

 

Total increase (decrease) in net assets

    (22,718,457     220,890,884  

Beginning of period

    220,990,886       100,002  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period

  $ 198,272,429     $ 220,990,886  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Commencement of operations.

(b) 

Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

(c) 

Prior year distribution character information and undistributed net investment income has been modified or removed to conform with current year Regulation S-X presentation changes. Refer to Note 11 for this prior year information.

(d) 

Net sales load paid of $3,150,000.

(e)

Net sales load paid of $161,796.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS      33  


Statements of Changes in Net Assets  (continued)

 

    BlackRock Income Trust, Inc. (BKT)
 
    Period from
09/01/18 to
12/31/18
          Year Ended August 31,  
            2018     2017  

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS

       

OPERATIONS

       

Net investment income

  $ 5,356,949       $ 15,380,273     $ 15,746,349  

Net realized gain

    1,883,503         3,580       4,516,347  

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

    (401,364       (21,780,683     (13,981,411
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    6,839,088         (6,396,830     6,281,285  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS(a)(b)

       

From net investment income

    (8,502,470       (19,309,786     (20,333,729

From return of capital

    (2,470,634       (1,505,499      
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Decrease in net assets resulting from distributions to shareholders

    (10,973,104       (20,815,285     (20,333,729
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

       

Cost of shares repurchased

            (854,488      
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS(b)

       

Total decrease in net assets

    (4,134,016       (28,066,603     (14,052,444

Beginning of period

    402,763,074         430,829,677       444,882,121  
 

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period

  $ 398,629,058       $ 402,763,074     $ 430,829,677  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a)

Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

(b)

Prior year distribution character information and distributions in excess of net investment income has been modified or removed to conform with current year Regulation S-X presentation changes. Refer to Note 11 for this prior year information.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

34    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Statements of Cash Flows

 

    BGIO     BKT  
    

Year Ended
December 31, 2018

   

Period from
09/01/18 to
12/31/18

   

Year Ended

August 31, 2018

 

CASH PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

  $ (9,441,130   $ 6,839,088     $ (6,396,830

Adjustments to reconcile net increase in net assets resulting from operations to net cash provided by operating activities:

 

 

Proceeds from sales of long-term investments and principal paydowns

    282,638,191       469,059,596       1,978,125,886  

Purchases of long-term investments

    (239,691,990     (471,704,940     (1,986,326,934

Net proceeds from sales (purchases) of short-term securities

    3,215,113       6,178,666       (3,794,422

Amortization of premium and accretion of discount on investments and other fees

    292,135       3,587,431       10,041,581  

Net realized (gain)/loss on investments

    8,082,588       (719,370     4,715,011  

Net unrealized (appreciation) depreciation on investments, swaps, borrowed bonds and foreign currency translations

    17,091,875       (4,354,753     22,668,501  
(Increase) Decrease in Assets:        

Receivables:

 

 

Interest — unaffiliated

    573,249       38,649       (194,788

Dividends — affiliated

    (2,855     5,601       (6,436

Variation margin on futures contracts

          (17,469     202,703  

Variation margin on centrally cleared swaps

    (3,162            

Swap premium paid

    (5,618            

Prepaid expenses

    5,553       8,937       66  

Other assets

          520       10  
Increase (Decrease) in Liabilities:        

Cash received:

     

Collateral — OTC derivatives

    270,000       (260,000     (770,000

Collateral — reverse repurchase agreements

    (40,000     (569,000     569,000  

Collateral — TBA commitments

                11,000  

Payables:

 

 

Investment advisory fees

    (38,009     (2,329     (15,019

Interest expense

    (613,176     403,129       39,313  

Administration fees

          (652     (3,502

Trustees’ and Officer’s fees

    (219     (6,112     17,860  

Other accrued expenses

    (32,372     (220,080     216,450  

Variation margin on futures contracts

    (97,664     345,894       (237,980

Swap premiums received

    (14,979     (9,292     (27,863
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

    62,187,530       8,603,514       18,833,607  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

CASH USED FOR FINANCING ACTIVITIES

 

 

Payments on redemption of Common Shares

                (854,488

Net borrowing of reverse repurchase agreements

    (49,391,924     (49,400     632,094  

Cash dividends paid to Common Shareholders

    (13,695,187     (8,839,300     (20,802,353

Increase in bank overdraft

          51,186        
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used for financing activities

    (63,087,111     (8,837,514     (21,024,747
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

CASH IMPACT FROM FOREIGN EXCHANGE FLUCTUATIONS

 

 

Cash impact from foreign exchange fluctuations

  $ (6,536            
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

CASH AND FOREIGN CURRENCY

 

 

Net decrease in restricted and unrestricted cash and foreign currency

    (906,117     (234,000     (2,191,140

Restricted and unrestricted cash and foreign currency at value at beginning of period

    4,406,118       2,231,260       4,422,400  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Restricted and unrestricted cash and foreign currency at value at end of period

  $ 3,500,001     $ 1,997,260     $ 2,231,260  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION

 

 

Cash paid during the period for interest expense

  $ 2,157,164     $ 1,033,231       3,047,332  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS      35  


Statements of Cash Flows  (continued)

Period Ended December 31, 2018

 

    BGIO      BKT  
     Year Ended
December 31, 2018
     Period from
09/01/18 to
12/31/18
    

Year Ended

August 31, 2018

 

RECONCILIATION OF RESTRICTED AND UNRESTRICTED CASH AND FOREIGN CURRENCY AT THE END OF PERIOD TO THE STATEMENTS OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

    

Cash

  $ 43,062      $      $  

Cash pledged:

    

Collateral — OTC derivatives

    1,030,000               640,000  

Collateral — reverse repurchase agreements

           216,000         

Futures contracts

    73,000        1,781,260        1,591,260  

Centrally cleared swaps

    86,000                

Foreign currency at value

    2,267,939                
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
  $ 3,500,001      $ 1,997,260      $ 2,231,260  
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

RECONCILIATION OF RESTRICTED AND UNRESTRICTED CASH AND FOREIGN CURRENCY AT THE BEGINNING OF PERIOD TO THE STATEMENTS OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

    

Cash

    5,403             $ 27,140  

Cash pledged:

    

Collateral — OTC derivatives

    1,370,000        640,000        2,540,000  

Collateral — reverse repurchase agreements

                   

Futures contracts

    726,000        1,591,260        1,855,260  

Centrally cleared swaps

    120,000                

Foreign currency at value

    2,184,715                
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
  $ 4,406,118      $ 2,231,260      $ 4,422,400  
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

36    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Financial Highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

     BGIO  
    

Year Ended

December 31, 2018

   

Period from

02/27/17 (a) to
12/31/17

 
     

Net asset value, beginning of period

   $ 9.99     $ 9.85 (c)  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net investment income(b)

     0.62       0.50  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

     (1.05     0.18  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) from investment operations

     (0.43     0.68  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
Distributions(d)  

From net investment income

     (0.60     (0.51

From net realized gain

           (0.01
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions

     (0.60     (0.52
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Capital changes with respect to issuance of shares

           (0.02
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

   $ 8.96     $ 9.99  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Market price, end of period

   $ 8.32     $ 9.80  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Return(e)

 

Based on net asset value

     (4.11 )%(f)      6.87 %(g) 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Based on market price

     (9.24 )%      3.26 %(g) 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Ratios to Average Net Assets(h)

 

Total expenses

     1.66     1.60 %(i)(j) 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total expenses after fees waived

     1.65     1.59 %(i)(j) 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total expenses after fees waived and excluding interest expense

     0.93     0.93 %(i)(j) 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net investment income

     6.52     5.99 %(i)(j) 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Supplemental Data

 

Net assets, end of period (000)

   $ 198,272     $ 220,991  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Borrowings outstanding, end of period (000)

   $ 50,976     $ 100,982  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Portfolio turnover rate(k)

     83     125
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Commencement of operations.

(b) 

Based on average shares outstanding.

(c) 

Net asset value, beginning of period, reflects a reduction of $0.15 per share sales charge from the initial offering price of $10.00 per share.

(d) 

Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

(e) 

Total returns based on market price, which can be significantly greater or less than the net asset value, may result in substantially different returns. Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions at actual reinvestment prices.

(f) 

Includes payment received from an affiliate, which had no impact on the Trust’s total return.

(g) 

Aggregate total return.

(h) 

Excludes expenses incurred indirectly as a result of investments in underlying funds as follows:

 

     

Year Ended

December 31, 2018

          

Period from

02/27/17 (a) to
12/31/17

        

Investments in underlying funds

             0.03  
  

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

(i) 

Annualized.

(j) 

Audit costs were not annualized in the calculation of the expense ratios and net investment income ratio. If these expenses were annualized, the total expenses would have been 1.61%,1.60%, 0.94% and 5.99%, respectively.

(k) 

Includes mortgage dollar roll transactions (“MDRs”). Additional information regarding portfolio turnover rate is as follows:

 

     

Year Ended

December 31, 2018

          

Period from

02/27/17 (a) to
12/31/17

        

Portfolio turnover rate (excluding MDRs)

     78       93  
  

 

 

     

 

 

   

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS      37  


Financial Highlights  (continued)

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    BKT  
   

Period from

09/01/18 to

12/31/18

          Year Ended August 31,  
          2018      2017      2016      2015     2014  
               

Net asset value, beginning of period

  $ 6.31       $ 6.74      $ 6.96      $ 7.08      $ 7.27     $ 7.32  
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net investment income(a)

    0.08         0.24        0.25        0.28        0.32       0.35  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.03         (0.34      (0.15      (0.05      (0.11     0.03  
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) from investment operations

    0.11         (0.10      0.10        0.23        0.21       0.38  
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 
Distributions(b)  

From net investment income

    (0.13       (0.30      (0.32      (0.35      (0.40     (0.43

From return of capital

    (0.04       (0.03                           
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions

    (0.17       (0.33      (0.32      (0.35      (0.40     (0.43
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

  $ 6.25       $ 6.31      $ 6.74      $ 6.96      $ 7.08     $ 7.27  
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Market price, end of period

  $ 5.64       $ 5.77      $ 6.31      $ 6.60      $ 6.30     $ 6.42  
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Return(c)

 

Based on net asset value

    2.06 %(d)        (1.14 )%       1.82      3.64      3.56     6.05
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Based on market price

    0.72 %(d)        (3.44 )%       0.53      10.44      4.35     7.12
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Ratios to Average Net Assets(e)

 

Total expenses

    2.08 %(f)(g)        1.79      1.29      1.08      0.99 %(h)      1.02 %(h) 
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed

    2.08 %(f)        1.79      1.28      1.08      0.99 %(h)      1.02 %(h) 
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and excluding interest expense

    0.99 %(f)        1.04      0.90      0.89      0.90 %(h)      0.96 %(h) 
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net investment income

    4.04 %(f)        3.72      3.63      4.01      4.48     4.74
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Supplemental Data

 

Net assets, end of period (000)

  $ 398,629       $ 402,763      $ 430,830      $ 444,882      $ 452,616     $ 464,933  
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Borrowings outstanding, end of period (000)

  $ 186,799       $ 186,441      $ 185,769      $ 152,859      $ 173,695     $ 205,415  
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Portfolio turnover rate(i)

    95       373      346      141      191     256
 

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Based on average shares outstanding.

(b) 

Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

(c) 

Total returns based on market price, which can be significantly greater or less than the net asset value, may result in substantially different returns. Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions at actual reinvestment prices.

(d) 

Aggregate total return.

(e) 

Excludes expenses incurred indirectly as a result of investments in underlying funds as follows:

 

   

Period from
09/01/18 to

12/31/18

          Year Ended August 31,  
        2018           2017           2016           2015           2014        

Investments in underlying funds

                  0.01             0.01                                                  
 

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

(f) 

Annualized.

(g)

Audit fees were not annualized in the calculation of the expenses ratios. If these expenses were annualized, the total expenses would have been 2.11%.

(h)

Includes reorganization costs. Without these costs, total expenses, total expenses after fees waived and paid indirectly, and total expenses after fees waived and paid indirectly and excluding interest expense would have been 0.99%, 0.99% and 0.89% for the year ended August 31, 2015 and 0.97%, 0.97% and 0.90% for the year ended August 31, 2014, respectively.

(i)

Includes MDRs. Additional information regarding portfolio turnover rate is as follows:

 

   

Period from

09/01/18 to

12/31/18

          Year Ended August 31,  
        2018           2017           2016           2015           2014        

Portfolio turnover rate (excluding MDRs)

    45             181             161             63             78             125          
 

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

   

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

38    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Notes to Financial Statements

 

1.

ORGANIZATION

The following are registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as closed-end management investment companies and are referred to herein collectively as the “Trusts”, or individually as a “Trust”:

 

Trust Name   Herein Referred To As    Organized    Diversification
Classification

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

  BGIO    Delaware    Non-diversified

BlackRock Income Trust, Inc.

  BKT    Maryland    Diversified

The Boards of Directors and Boards of Trustees of the Trusts are collectively referred to throughout this report as the “Board of Trustees” or the “Board,” and the directors/trustees thereof are collectively referred to throughout this report as “Trustees”. The Trusts determine and make available for publication the NAVs of their Common Shares on a daily basis.

On July 24, 2018, the Board approved a change of the fiscal year of BKT from August 31 to December 31.

The Trusts, together with certain other registered investment companies advised by BlackRock Advisors, LLC (the “Manager”) or its affiliates, is included in a complex of closed-end funds referred to as the Closed-End Complex.

 

2.

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The financial statements are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”), which may require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Each Trust is considered an investment company under U.S. GAAP and follows the accounting and reporting guidance applicable to investment companies. Below is a summary of significant accounting policies:

Investment Transactions and Income Recognition: For financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are recorded on the dates the transactions are entered into (the “trade dates”). Realized gains and losses on investment transactions are determined on the identified cost basis. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date. Dividends from foreign securities where the ex-dividend date may have passed are subsequently recorded when the Trusts are informed of the ex-dividend date. Under the applicable foreign tax laws, a withholding tax at various rates may be imposed on capital gains, dividends and interest. Interest income, including amortization and accretion of premiums and discounts on debt securities, is recognized on an accrual basis.

Foreign Currency Translation: Each Trust’s books and records are maintained in U.S. dollars. Securities and other assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars using exchange rates determined as of the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). Purchases and sales of investments are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions. Generally, when the U.S. dollar rises in value against a foreign currency, the investments denominated in that currency will lose value; the opposite effect occurs if the U.S. dollar falls in relative value.

Each Trust does not isolate the portion of the results of operations arising as a result of changes in the exchange rates from the changes in the market price of investments held or sold for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, the effects of changes in exchange rates on investments are not segregated in the Statements of Operations from the effects of changes in market prices of those investments, but are included as a component of net realized and unrealized gain (loss) from investments. Each Trust reports realized currency gains (losses) on foreign currency related transactions as components of net realized gain (loss) for financial reporting purposes, whereas such components are generally treated as ordinary income for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Segregation and Collateralization: In cases where a Trust enters into certain investments (e.g., dollar rolls, TBA sale commitments, futures contracts, forward foreign currency exchange contracts, swaps, short sales) or certain borrowings (e.g., reverse repurchase transactions) that would be treated as “senior securities” for 1940 Act purposes, a Trust may segregate or designate on its books and records cash or liquid assets having a market value at least equal to the amount of its future obligations under such investments or borrowings. Doing so allows the investment or borrowing to be excluded from treatment as a “senior security.” Furthermore, if required by an exchange or counterparty agreement, the Trusts may be required to deliver/deposit cash and/or securities to/with an exchange, or broker-dealer or custodian as collateral for certain investments or obligations.

Distributions: For BGIO, distributions from net investment income are declared monthly and paid monthly. Distributions of capital gains are recorded on the ex-dividend date and made at least annually. Distributions paid by BKT are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Subject to the Trust’s level distribution plan, the Trust intends to make monthly cash distributions to shareholders, which may consist of net investment income, net options premium and net realized and unrealized gains on investments and/or return of capital.

The character of distributions is determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP. The portion of distributions that exceeds a Trust’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, which are measured on a tax basis, will constitute a non-taxable return of capital. See Note 8, Income Tax Information, for the tax character of each Trust’s distributions paid during the period.

Deferred Compensation Plan: Under the Deferred Compensation Plan (the “Plan”) approved by each Trust’s Board, the independent Trustees (“Independent Trustees”) may defer a portion of their annual complex-wide compensation. Deferred amounts earn an approximate return as though equivalent dollar amounts had been invested in common shares of certain other BlackRock Closed-End Funds selected by the Independent Trustees. This has the same economic effect for the Independent Trustees as if the Independent Trustees had invested the deferred amounts directly in certain other BlackRock Closed-End Funds.

 

 

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS      39  


Notes to Financial Statements  (continued)

 

The Plan is not funded and obligations thereunder represent general unsecured claims against the general assets of each Trust, if applicable. Deferred compensation liabilities are included in the Trustees’ and Officer’s fees payable in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities and will remain as a liability of the Trusts until such amounts are distributed in accordance with the Plan.

Recent Accounting Standards: In March 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update “Premium Amortization of Purchased Callable Debt Securities” which amends the amortization period for certain purchased callable debt securities. Under the new guidance, the premium amortization of purchased callable debt securities that have explicit, non-contingent call features and are callable at fixed prices will be amortized to the earliest call date. The guidance will be applied on a modified retrospective basis and is effective for fiscal years, and their interim periods, beginning after December 15, 2018. Management is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance to the Trusts.

In August 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update 2018-13 “Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement” which modifies disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and for interim periods within those fiscal years. Management is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance to the Trusts.

Indemnifications: In the normal course of business, a Trust enters into contracts that contain a variety of representations that provide general indemnification. A Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown because it involves future potential claims against a Trust, which cannot be predicted with any certainty.

Other: Expenses directly related to a Trust are charged to that Trust. Other operating expenses shared by several trusts, including other trusts managed by the Manager, are prorated among those trusts on the basis of relative net assets or other appropriate methods.

 

3.

INVESTMENT VALUATION AND FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Investment Valuation Policies: The Trusts’ investments are valued at fair value (also referred to as “market value” within the financial statements) as of the close of trading on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time). U.S. GAAP defines fair value as the price the Trusts would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The Trusts determine the fair values of their financial instruments using various independent dealers or pricing services under policies approved by the Board of Trustees of each Trust (the “Board”). The BlackRock Global Valuation Methodologies Committee (the “Global Valuation Committee”) is the committee formed by management to develop global pricing policies and procedures and to oversee the pricing function for all financial instruments.

Fair Value Inputs and Methodologies: The following methods and inputs are used to establish the fair value of each Trust’s assets and liabilities:

 

   

Fixed-income securities for which market quotations are readily available are generally valued using the last available bid prices or current market quotations provided by independent dealers or third party pricing services. Floating rate loan interests are valued at the mean of the bid prices from one or more independent brokers or dealers as obtained from a third party pricing service. Pricing services generally value fixed-income securities assuming orderly transactions of an institutional round lot size, but a trust may hold or transact in such securities in smaller, odd lot sizes. Odd lots may trade at lower prices than institutional round lots. The pricing services may use matrix pricing or valuation models that utilize certain inputs and assumptions to derive values, including transaction data (e.g., recent representative bids and offers), credit quality information, perceived market movements, news, and other relevant information. Certain fixed-income securities, including asset-backed and mortgage related securities may be valued based on valuation models that consider the estimated cash flows of each tranche of the entity, establish a benchmark yield and develop an estimated tranche specific spread to the benchmark yield based on the unique attributes of the tranche. The amortized cost method of valuation may be used with respect to debt obligations with sixty days or less remaining to maturity unless the Manager determines such method does not represent fair value.

Generally, trading in foreign instruments is substantially completed each day at various times prior to the close of trading on the NYSE. Occasionally, events affecting the values of such instruments may occur between the foreign market close and the close of trading on the NYSE that may not be reflected in the computation of the Trusts’ net assets.

 

   

Investments in open-end U.S. mutual funds are valued at net asset value (“NAV”) each business day.

 

   

Futures contracts traded on exchanges are valued at their last sale price.

 

   

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at the mean between the bid and ask prices and are determined as of the close of trading on the NYSE. Interpolated values are derived when the settlement date of the contract is an interim date for which quotations are not available.

 

   

Exchange-traded options are valued at the mean between the last bid and ask prices at the close of the options market in which the options trade. An exchange-traded option for which there is no mean price is valued at the last bid (long positions) or ask (short positions) price. If no bid or ask price is available, the prior day’s price will be used, unless it is determined that the prior day’s price no longer reflects the fair value of the option. Over-the-counter (“OTC”) options are valued by an independent pricing service using a mathematical model, which incorporates a number of market data factors, such as the trades and prices of the underlying instruments.

 

   

Swap agreements are valued utilizing quotes received daily by the Trusts’ pricing service or through brokers, which are derived using daily swap curves and models that incorporate a number of market data factors, such as discounted cash flows, trades and values of the underlying reference instruments.

 

   

TBA commitments are valued on the basis of last available bid prices or current market quotations provided by pricing services.

If events (e.g., a company announcement, market volatility or a natural disaster) occur that are expected to materially affect the value of such investments, or in the event that the application of these methods of valuation results in a price for an investment that is deemed not to be representative of the market value of such investment, or if a

 

 

40    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Notes to Financial Statements  (continued)

 

price is not available, the investment will be valued by the Global Valuation Committee, or its delegate, in accordance with a policy approved by the Board as reflecting fair value (“Fair Valued Investments”). The fair valuation approaches that may be used by the Global Valuation Committee will include market approach, income approach and cost approach. Valuation techniques such as discounted cash flow, use of market comparables and matrix pricing are types of valuation approaches and are typically used in determining fair value. When determining the price for Fair Valued Investments, the Global Valuation Committee, or its delegate, seeks to determine the price that each Trust might reasonably expect to receive or pay from the current sale or purchase of that asset or liability in an arm’s-length transaction. Fair value determinations shall be based upon all available factors that the Global Valuation Committee, or its delegate, deems relevant and consistent with the principles of fair value measurement.

The Global Valuation Committee, or its delegate, employs various methods for calibrating valuation approaches for investments where an active market does not exist, including regular due diligence of each Trust’s pricing vendors, regular reviews of key inputs and assumptions, transactional back-testing or disposition analysis to compare unrealized gains and losses to realized gains and losses, reviews of missing or stale prices and large movements in market values and reviews of any market related activity. The pricing of all Fair Valued Investments is subsequently reported to the Board or a committee thereof on a quarterly basis. As a result of the inherent uncertainty in valuation of these investments, the fair values may differ from the values that would have been used had an active market existed.

For investments in equity or debt issued by privately held companies or funds (“Private Company” or collectively, the “Private Companies”) and other Fair Valued Investments, the fair valuation approaches that are used by third party pricing services utilize one or a combination of, but not limited to, the following inputs.

 

     Standard Inputs Generally Considered By Third Party Pricing Services

Market approach

 

(i)  recent market transactions, including subsequent rounds of financing, in the underlying investment or comparable issuers;

(ii)   recapitalizations and other transactions across the capital structure; and

(iii)  market multiples of comparable issuers.

Income approach

 

(i)  future cash flows discounted to present and adjusted as appropriate for liquidity, credit, and/or market risks;

(ii)   quoted prices for similar investments or assets in active markets; and

(iii)  other risk factors, such as interest rates, yield curves, volatilities, prepayment speeds, loss severities, credit risks, recovery rates, liquidation amounts and/or default rates.

Cost approach

 

(i)  audited or unaudited financial statements, investor communications and financial or operational metrics issued by the Private Company;

(ii)   changes in the valuation of relevant indices or publicly traded companies comparable to the Private Company;

(iii)  relevant news and other public sources; and

(iv)  known secondary market transactions in the Private Company’s interests and merger or acquisition activity in companies comparable to the Private Company.

Investments in series of preferred stock issued by Private Companies are typically valued utilizing market approach in determining the enterprise value of the company. Such investments often contain rights and preferences that differ from other series of preferred and common stock of the same issuer. Valuation techniques such as an option pricing model (“OPM”), a probability weighted expected return model (“PWERM”) or a hybrid of those techniques are used in allocating enterprise value of the company, as deemed appropriate under the circumstances. The use of OPM and PWERM techniques involve a determination of the exit scenarios of the investment in order to appropriately allocate the enterprise value of the company among the various parts of its capital structure.

The Private Companies are not subject to the public company disclosure, timing, and reporting standards as other investments held by a Trust. Typically, the most recently available information by a Private Company is as of a date that is earlier than the date a Trust is calculating its NAV. This factor may result in a difference between the value of the investment and the price a Trust could receive upon the sale of the investment.

Fair Value Hierarchy: Various inputs are used in determining the fair value of investments and derivative financial instruments. These inputs to valuation techniques are categorized into a fair value hierarchy consisting of three broad levels for financial statement purposes as follows:

 

   

Level 1 – Unadjusted price quotations in active markets/exchanges for identical assets or liabilities that each Trust has the ability to access

 

   

Level 2 – Other observable inputs (including, but not limited to, quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in markets that are active, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the assets or liabilities (such as interest rates, yield curves, volatilities, prepayment speeds, loss severities, credit risks and default rates) or other market–corroborated inputs)

 

   

Level 3 – Unobservable inputs based on the best information available in the circumstances, to the extent observable inputs are not available (including each Trust’s own assumptions used in determining the fair value of investments and derivative financial instruments)

The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized in Level 3. The inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, for disclosure purposes, the fair value hierarchy classification is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. Investments classified within Level 3 have significant unobservable inputs used by the Global Valuation Committee in determining the price for Fair Valued Investments. Level 3 investments include equity or debt issued by Private Companies. There may not be a secondary market, and/or there are a limited number of investors. Level 3 investments may also be adjusted to reflect illiquidity and/or non-transferability, with the amount of such discount estimated by the Global Valuation Committee in the absence of market information.

Changes in valuation techniques may result in transfers into or out of an assigned level within the hierarchy. In accordance with each Trust’s policy, transfers between different levels of the fair value hierarchy are deemed to have occurred as of the beginning of the reporting period. The categorization of a value determined for investments and derivative financial instruments is based on the pricing transparency of the investments and derivative financial instruments and is not necessarily an indication of the risks associated with investing in those securities.

 

 

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS      41  


Notes to Financial Statements  (continued)

 

 

4.

SECURITIES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS

Asset-Backed and Mortgage-Backed Securities: Asset-backed securities are generally issued as pass-through certificates or as debt instruments. Asset-backed securities issued as pass-through certificates represent undivided fractional ownership interests in an underlying pool of assets. Asset-backed securities issued as debt instruments, which are also known as collateralized obligations, are typically issued as the debt of a special purpose entity organized solely for the purpose of owning such assets and issuing such debt. Asset-backed securities are often backed by a pool of assets representing the obligations of a number of different parties. The yield characteristics of certain asset-backed securities may differ from traditional debt securities. One such major difference is that all or a principal part of the obligations may be prepaid at any time because the underlying assets (i.e., loans) may be prepaid at any time. As a result, a decrease in interest rates in the market may result in increases in the level of prepayments as borrowers, particularly mortgagors, refinance and repay their loans. An increased prepayment rate with respect to an asset-backed security will have the effect of shortening the maturity of the security. In addition, a trust may subsequently have to reinvest the proceeds at lower interest rates. If a trust has purchased such an asset-backed security at a premium, a faster than anticipated prepayment rate could result in a loss of principal to the extent of the premium paid.

For mortgage pass-through securities (the “Mortgage Assets”) there are a number of important differences among the agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. Government that issue mortgage-related securities and among the securities that they issue. For example, mortgage-related securities guaranteed by Ginnie Mae are guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest by Ginnie Mae and such guarantee is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. However, mortgage-related securities issued by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, including Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae guaranteed mortgage pass-through certificates, which are solely the obligations of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, are not backed by or entitled to the full faith and credit of the United States, but are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury.

Non-agency mortgage-backed securities are securities issued by non-governmental issuers and have no direct or indirect government guarantees of payment and are subject to various risks. Non-agency mortgage loans are obligations of the borrowers thereunder only and are not typically insured or guaranteed by any other person or entity. The ability of a borrower to repay a loan is dependent upon the income or assets of the borrower. A number of factors, including a general economic downturn, acts of God, terrorism, social unrest and civil disturbances, may impair a borrower’s ability to repay its loans.

Collateralized Debt Obligations: Collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), including collateralized bond obligations (“CBOs”) and collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), are types of asset-backed securities. A CDO is an entity that is backed by a diversified pool of debt securities (CBOs) or syndicated bank loans (CLOs). The cash flows of the CDO can be split into multiple segments, called “tranches,” which will vary in risk profile and yield. The riskiest segment is the subordinated or “equity” tranche. This tranche bears the greatest risk of defaults from the underlying assets in the CDO and serves to protect the other, more senior, tranches from default in all but the most severe circumstances. Since it is shielded from defaults by the more junior tranches, a “senior” tranche will typically have higher credit ratings and lower yields than their underlying securities, and often receive investment grade ratings from one or more of the nationally recognized rating agencies. Despite the protection from the more junior tranches, senior tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, increased sensitivity to future defaults and the disappearance of one or more protecting tranches as a result of changes in the credit profile of the underlying pool of assets.

Multiple Class Pass-Through Securities: Multiple class pass-through securities, including collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”) and commercial mortgage-backed securities, may be issued by Ginnie Mae, U.S. Government agencies or instrumentalities or by trusts formed by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans. In general, CMOs are debt obligations of a legal entity that are collateralized by a pool of residential or commercial mortgage loans or Mortgage Assets. The payments on these are used to make payments on the CMOs or multiple pass-through securities. Multiple class pass-through securities represent direct ownership interests in the Mortgage Assets. Classes of CMOs include interest only (“IOs”), principal only (“POs”), planned amortization classes and targeted amortization classes. IOs and POs are stripped mortgage-backed securities representing interests in a pool of mortgages, the cash flow from which has been separated into interest and principal components. IOs receive the interest portion of the cash flow while POs receive the principal portion. IOs and POs can be extremely volatile in response to changes in interest rates. As interest rates rise and fall, the value of IOs tends to move in the same direction as interest rates. POs perform best when prepayments on the underlying mortgages rise since this increases the rate at which the principal is returned and the yield to maturity on the PO. When payments on mortgages underlying a PO are slower than anticipated, the life of the PO is lengthened and the yield to maturity is reduced. If the underlying Mortgage Assets experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, a trust’s initial investment in the IOs may not fully recoup.

Stripped Mortgage-Backed Securities: Stripped mortgage-backed securities are typically issued by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities. Stripped mortgage-backed securities are usually structured with two classes that receive different proportions of the interest (IOs) and principal (POs) distributions on a pool of mortgage pass-through securities (the “Mortgage Assets”). Stripped mortgage-backed securities may be privately issued.

Zero-Coupon Bonds: Zero-coupon bonds are normally issued at a significant discount from face value and do not provide for periodic interest payments. These bonds may experience greater volatility in market value than other debt obligations of similar maturity which provide for regular interest payments.

Capital Securities and Trust Preferred Securities: Capital securities, including trust preferred securities, are typically issued by corporations, generally in the form of interest-bearing notes with preferred securities characteristics. In the case of trust preferred securities, an affiliated business trust of a corporation issues these securities, generally in the form of beneficial interests in subordinated debentures or similarly structured securities. The securities can be structured with either a fixed or adjustable coupon that can have either a perpetual or stated maturity date. For trust preferred securities, the issuing bank or corporation pays interest to the trust, which is then distributed to holders of these securities as a dividend. Dividends can be deferred without creating an event of default or acceleration, although maturity cannot take place unless all cumulative payment obligations have been met. The deferral of payments does not affect the purchase or sale of these securities in the open market. These securities generally are rated below that of the issuing company’s senior debt securities and are freely callable at the issuer’s option.

Floating Rate Loan Interests: Floating rate loan interests are typically issued to companies (the “borrower”) by banks, other financial institutions, or privately and publicly offered corporations (the “lender”). Floating rate loan interests are generally non-investment grade, often involve borrowers whose financial condition is troubled or uncertain and companies that are highly leveraged or in bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, transactions in floating rate loan interests may settle on a delayed basis,

 

 

42    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Notes to Financial Statements  (continued)

 

which may result in proceeds from the sale not being readily available for a trust to make additional investments or meet its redemption obligations. Floating rate loan interests may include fully funded term loans or revolving lines of credit. Floating rate loan interests are typically senior in the corporate capital structure of the borrower. Floating rate loan interests generally pay interest at rates that are periodically determined by reference to a base lending rate plus a premium. Since the rates reset only periodically, changes in prevailing interest rates (and particularly sudden and significant changes) can be expected to cause some fluctuations in the NAV of a Trust to the extent that it invests in floating rate loan interests. The base lending rates are generally the lending rate offered by one or more European banks, such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), the prime rate offered by one or more U.S. banks or the certificate of deposit rate. Floating rate loan interests may involve foreign borrowers, and investments may be denominated in foreign currencies. These investments are treated as investments in debt securities for purposes of a trust’s investment policies.

When a trust purchases a floating rate loan interest, it may receive a facility fee and when it sells a floating rate loan interest, it may pay a facility fee. On an ongoing basis, a trust may receive a commitment fee based on the undrawn portion of the underlying line of credit amount of a floating rate loan interest. Facility and commitment fees are typically amortized to income over the term of the loan or term of the commitment, respectively. Consent and amendment fees are recorded to income as earned. Prepayment penalty fees, which may be received by a trust upon the prepayment of a floating rate loan interest by a borrower, are recorded as realized gains. A trust may invest in multiple series or tranches of a loan. A different series or tranche may have varying terms and carry different associated risks.

Floating rate loan interests are usually freely callable at the borrower’s option. A trust may invest in such loans in the form of participations in loans (“Participations”) or assignments (“Assignments”) of all or a portion of loans from third parties. Participations typically will result in a trust having a contractual relationship only with the lender, not with the borrower. A trust has the right to receive payments of principal, interest and any fees to which it is entitled only from the lender selling the Participation and only upon receipt by the lender of the payments from the borrower. In connection with purchasing Participations, a trust generally will have no right to enforce compliance by the borrower with the terms of the loan agreement, nor any rights of offset against the borrower. A trust may not benefit directly from any collateral supporting the loan in which it has purchased the Participation. As a result, a trust assumes the credit risk of both the borrower and the lender that is selling the Participation. A trust’s investment in loan participation interests involves the risk of insolvency of the financial intermediaries who are parties to the transactions. In the event of the insolvency of the lender selling the Participation, a trust may be treated as a general creditor of the lender and may not benefit from any offset between the lender and the borrower. Assignments typically result in a trust having a direct contractual relationship with the borrower, and a trust may enforce compliance by the borrower with the terms of the loan agreement.

Forward Commitments and When-Issued Delayed Delivery Securities: The Trust may purchase securities on a when-issued basis and may purchase or sell securities on a forward commitment basis. Settlement of such transactions normally occurs within a month or more after the purchase or sale commitment is made. A Trust may purchase securities under such conditions with the intention of actually acquiring them, but may enter into a separate agreement to sell the securities before the settlement date. Since the value of securities purchased may fluctuate prior to settlement, a trust may be required to pay more at settlement than the security is worth. In addition, a Trust is not entitled to any of the interest earned prior to settlement. When purchasing a security on a delayed delivery basis, a Trust assumes the rights and risks of ownership of the security, including the risk of price and yield fluctuations. In the event of default by the counterparty, a Trust’s maximum amount of loss is the unrealized appreciation of unsettled when-issued transactions.

TBA Commitments: TBA commitments are forward agreements for the purchase or sale of mortgage-backed securities for a fixed price, with payment and delivery on an agreed upon future settlement date. The specific securities to be delivered are not identified at the trade date. However, delivered securities must meet specified terms, including issuer, rate and mortgage terms. When entering into TBA commitments, a trust may take possession of or deliver the underlying mortgage-backed securities but can extend the settlement or roll the transaction. TBA commitments involve a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased or sold declines or increases, respectively, prior to settlement date.

In order to better define contractual rights and to secure rights that will help a trust mitigate their counterparty risk, TBA commitments may be entered into by a trust under Master Securities Forward Transaction Agreements (each, an “MSFTA”). An MSFTA typically contains, among other things, collateral posting terms and netting provisions in the event of default and/or termination event. The collateral requirements are typically calculated by netting the mark-to-market amount for each transaction under such agreement and comparing that amount to the value of the collateral currently pledged by a trust and the counterparty. Cash collateral that has been pledged to cover the obligations of a trust and cash collateral received from the counterparty, if any, is reported separately in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities as cash pledged as collateral for TBA commitments or cash received as collateral for TBA commitments, respectively. Non-cash collateral pledged by a trust, if any, is noted in the Schedules of Investments. Typically, a trust is permitted to sell, re-pledge or use the collateral it receives; however, the counterparty is not permitted to do so. To the extent amounts due to a trust are not fully collateralized, contractually or otherwise, a trust bears the risk of loss from counterparty non-performance.

Mortgage Dollar Roll Transactions: Certain trusts may sell TBA mortgage-backed securities and simultaneously contract to repurchase substantially similar (i.e., same type, coupon and maturity) securities on a specific future date at an agreed upon price. During the period between the sale and repurchase, a trust is not entitled to receive interest and principal payments on the securities sold. Mortgage dollar roll transactions are treated as purchases and sales and realize gains and losses on these transactions. Mortgage dollar rolls involve the risk that the market value of the securities that a trust is required to purchase may decline below the agreed upon repurchase price of those securities.

Borrowed Bond Agreements: Repurchase agreements may be referred to as borrowed bond agreements when entered into in connection with short sales of bonds. In a borrowed bond agreement, a trust borrows a bond from counterparty in exchange for cash collateral. The agreement contains a commitment that the security and the cash will be returned to the counterparty and a trust at a mutually agreed upon date. Certain agreements have no stated maturity and can be terminated by either party at any time. Earnings on cash collateral and compensation to the lender of the bond are based on agreed upon rates between a trust and the counterparty. The value of the underlying cash collateral approximates the market value and accrued interest of the borrowed bond. To the extent that a borrowed bond transaction exceeds one business day, the value of the cash collateral in the possession of the counterparty is monitored on a daily basis to ensure the adequacy of the collateral. As the market value of the borrowed bond changes, the cash collateral is periodically increased or decreased with a frequency and in amounts prescribed in the borrowed bond agreement. A trust may also experience delays in gaining access to the collateral.

 

 

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS      43  


Notes to Financial Statements  (continued)

 

Reverse Repurchase Agreements: Reverse repurchase agreements are agreements with qualified third party broker dealers in which a trust sells securities to a bank or broker-dealer and agrees to repurchase the same securities at a mutually agreed upon date and price. A trust receives cash from the sale to use for other investment purposes. During the term of the reverse repurchase agreement, a trust continues to receive the principal and interest payments on the securities sold. Certain agreements have no stated maturity and can be terminated by either party at any time. Interest on the value of the reverse repurchase agreements issued and outstanding is based upon competitive market rates determined at the time of issuance. A trust may utilize reverse repurchase agreements when it is anticipated that the interest income to be earned from the investment of the proceeds of the transaction is greater than the interest expense of the transaction. Reverse repurchase agreements involve leverage risk. If a trust suffers a loss on its investment of the transaction proceeds from a reverse repurchase agreement, a trust would still be required to pay the full repurchase price. Further, a trust remains subject to the risk that the market value of the securities repurchased declines below the repurchase price. In such cases, a trust would be required to return a portion of the cash received from the transaction or provide additional securities to the counterparty.

Cash received in exchange for securities delivered plus accrued interest due to the counterparty is recorded as a liability in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities at face value including accrued interest. Due to the short-term nature of the reverse repurchase agreements, face value approximates fair value. Interest payments made by a trust to the counterparties are recorded as a component of interest expense in the Statements of Operations. In periods of increased demand for the security, a trust may receive a fee for the use of the security by the counterparty, which may result in interest income to a trust.

For the year and period ended December 31, 2018, the average amount of reverse repurchase agreements outstanding and the daily weighted average interest rate for the Trusts were follows:

 

     Average Amount
Outstanding
     Daily Weighted Average
Interest Rate
 

BGIO

  $ 61,839,464        2.50

BKT

    179,002,974        2.39  

Borrowed bond agreements and reverse repurchase transactions are entered into by a trust under Master Repurchase Agreements (each, an “MRA”), which permit a trust, under certain circumstances, including an event of default (such as bankruptcy or insolvency), to offset payables and/or receivables under the MRA with collateral held and/or posted to the counterparty and create one single net payment due to or from a trust. With borrowed bond agreements and reverse repurchase transactions, typically a trust and counterparty under an MRA are permitted to sell, re-pledge, or use the collateral associated with the transaction. Bankruptcy or insolvency laws of a particular jurisdiction may impose restrictions on or prohibitions against such a right of offset in the event of the MRA counterparty’s bankruptcy or insolvency. Pursuant to the terms of the MRA, a trust receives or posts securities and cash as collateral with a market value in excess of the repurchase price to be paid or received by a trust upon the maturity of the transaction. Upon a bankruptcy or insolvency of the MRA counterparty, a trust is considered an unsecured creditor with respect to excess collateral and, as such, the return of excess collateral may be delayed.

As of period end, the following table is a summary of BKT’s open borrowed bond agreements and reverse repurchase agreements by counterparty which are subject to offset under an MRA on a net basis:

 

BKT                               
Counterparty  

Reverse Repurchase

Agreements

    

Fair Value of

Non-cash Collateral

Pledged Including

Accrued Interest (a)

    

Cash Collateral

Pledged/Received

     Net Amount  

BNP Paribas Securities Corp

  $ 11,416,641      $ (11,416,641    $      $  

Citigroup Global Markets, Inc

    13,565,089        (13,565,089              

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc

    161,817,035        (161,817,035              
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
  $ 186,798,765      $ (186,798,765    $      $  
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Collateral with a value of $193,208,311 has been pledged in connection with open reverse repurchase agreements. Excess of collateral pledged to the individual counterparty is not shown for financial reporting purposes.

 

 

Counterparty    Borrowed
Bonds
Agreements
 (a)
     Borrowed
Bonds at
Value
including
Accrued
Interest
 (b)
    Exposure Due
(to) / from
Counterparty
before Collateral
    Non-cash
Collateral
Received
     Cash
Collateral
Received
     Non-cash
Collateral
Pledged
     Cash
Collateral
Pledged
     Net
Collateral
(Received) /
Pledged
     Net
Exposure
Due (to) /
from
Counterparty
 (c)
 

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

   $ 878,119      $ (880,048   $ (1,929   $      $      $      $      $      $ (1,929

 

  (a) 

Included in Investments at value-unaffiliated in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

 
  (b) 

Includes accrued interest on borrowed bonds in the amount of $3,274 which is included in interest expense payable in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

 
  (c) 

Net exposure represents the net receivable (payable) that would be due from/to the counterparty in the event of default.

 

 

 

44    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Notes to Financial Statements  (continued)

 

As of period end, the following table is a summary of BGIO’s open reverse repurchase agreements by counterparty which are subject to offset under an MRA on a net basis:

 

BGIO                               
Counterparty  

Reverse Repurchase

Agreements

    

Fair Value of

Non-cash Collateral

Pledged Including

Accrued Interest (a)

    

Cash Collateral

Pledged/Received

     Net Amount  

Barclays Capital, Inc.

  $ 3,254,979      $ (3,254,979    $      $  

BNP Paribas S.A.

    19,168,883        (19,168,883              

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

    165,351        (165,351              

Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc.

    1,270,666        (1,270,666              

RBC Capital Markets LLC

    27,116,609        (27,116,609              
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
  $ 50,976,488      $ (50,976,488    $      $  
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Collateral with a value of $61,185,982 has been pledged in connection with open reverse repurchase agreements. Excess of collateral pledged to the individual counterparty is not shown for financial reporting purposes.

 

In the event the counterparty of securities under an MRA files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, a trust’s use of the proceeds from the agreement may be restricted while the counterparty, or its trustee or receiver, determines whether or not to enforce a trust’s obligation to repurchase the securities.

Short Sale Transactions: In short sale transactions, a trust sells a security it does not hold in anticipation of a decline in the market price of that security. When a trust makes a short sale, it will borrow the security sold short (borrowed bond) and deliver the fixed-income security to the counterparty to which it sold the security short. An amount equal to the proceeds received by a trust is reflected as an asset and an equivalent liability. The amount of the liability is subsequently marked-to-market to reflect the market value of the short sale. A trust is required to repay the counterparty interest on the security sold short, which, if applicable, is included in interest expense in the Statements of Operations. A trust is exposed to market risk based on the amount, if any, that the market value of the security increases beyond the market value at which the position was sold. Thus, a short sale of a security involves the risk that instead of declining, the price of the security sold short will rise. The short sale of securities involves the possibility of an unlimited loss since there is an unlimited potential for the market price of the security sold short to increase. A gain is limited to the price at which a trust sold the security short. A realized gain or loss is recognized upon the termination of a short sale if the market price is either less than or greater than the proceeds originally received. There is no assurance that a trust will be able to close out a short position at a particular time or at an acceptable price.

 

5.

DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The Trusts engage in various portfolio investment strategies using derivative contracts both to increase the returns of the Trusts and/or to manage their exposure to certain risks such as credit risk, equity risk, interest rate risk, foreign currency exchange rate risk, commodity price risk or other risks (e.g., inflation risk). Derivative financial instruments categorized by risk exposure are included in the Schedules of Investments. These contracts may be transacted on an exchange or OTC.

Futures Contracts: Futures contracts are purchased or sold to gain exposure to, or manage exposure to, changes in interest rates (interest rate risk) and changes in the value of equity securities (equity risk) or foreign currencies (foreign currency exchange rate risk).

Futures contracts are agreements between the Trusts and a counterparty to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specified price and on a specified date. Depending on the terms of a contract, it is settled either through physical delivery of the underlying instrument on the settlement date or by payment of a cash amount on the settlement date. Upon entering into a futures contract, the Trusts are required to deposit initial margin with the broker in the form of cash or securities in an amount that varies depending on a contract’s size and risk profile. The initial margin deposit must then be maintained at an established level over the life of the contract. Amounts pledged, which are considered restricted, are included in cash pledged for futures contracts in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

Securities deposited as initial margin are designated in the Schedules of Investments and cash deposited, if any, is shown as cash pledged for futures contracts in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. Pursuant to the contract, the Trusts agree to receive from or pay to the broker an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in market value of the contract (“variation margin”). Variation margin is recorded as unrealized appreciation (depreciation) and, if any, shown as variation margin receivable (or payable) on futures contracts in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. When the contract is closed, a realized gain or loss is recorded in the Statements of Operations equal to the difference between the notional amount of the contract at the time it was opened and the notional amount at the time it was closed. The use of futures contracts involves the risk of an imperfect correlation in the movements in the price of futures contracts and interest, foreign currency exchange rates or underlying assets.

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts: Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are entered into to gain or reduce exposure to foreign currencies (foreign currency exchange rate risk).

A forward foreign currency exchange contract is an agreement between two parties to buy and sell a currency at a set exchange rate on a specified date. These contracts help to manage the overall exposure to the currencies in which some of the investments held by the Trusts are denominated and in some cases, may be used to obtain exposure to a particular market.

The contract is marked-to-market daily and the change in market value is recorded as unrealized appreciation (depreciation) in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. When a contract is closed, a realized gain or loss is recorded in the Statements of Operations equal to the difference between the value at the time it was opened and the value at the time it was closed. Non-deliverable forward foreign currency exchange contracts are settled with the counterparty in cash without the delivery of foreign currency. The use of forward foreign currency exchange contracts involves the risk that the value of a forward foreign currency exchange contract changes unfavorably

 

 

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS      45  


Notes to Financial Statements  (continued)

 

due to movements in the value of the referenced foreign currencies. Cash amounts pledged for forward foreign currency exchange contracts are considered restricted and are included in cash pledged as collateral for OTC derivatives in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

Options: The Trust purchases and writes call and put options to increase or decrease their exposure to the risks of underlying instruments, including equity risk, interest rate risk and/or commodity price risk and/or, in the case of options written, to generate gains from options premiums.

A call option gives the purchaser (holder) of the option the right (but not the obligation) to buy, and obligates the seller (writer) to sell (when the option is exercised) the underlying instrument at the exercise or strike price at any time or at a specified time during the option period. A put option gives the holder the right to sell and obligates the writer to buy the underlying instrument at the exercise or strike price at any time or at a specified time during the option period.

Premiums paid on options purchased and premiums received on options written, as well as the daily fluctuation in market value, are included in investments at value — unaffiliated and options written at value, respectively, in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. When an instrument is purchased or sold through the exercise of an option, the premium is offset against the cost or proceeds of the underlying instrument. When an option expires, a realized gain or loss is recorded in the Statements of Operations to the extent of the premiums received or paid. When an option is closed or sold, a gain or loss is recorded in the Statements of Operations to the extent the cost of the closing transaction exceeds the premiums received or paid. When the Trust writes a call option, such option is typically “covered,” meaning that it holds the underlying instrument subject to being called by the option counterparty. When the Trust writes a put option, such option is covered by cash in an amount sufficient to cover the obligation. These amounts, which are considered restricted, are included in cash pledged as collateral for options written in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

 

   

Swaptions — Certain Trusts purchase and write options on swaps (“swaptions”) primarily to preserve a return or spread on a particular investment or portion of the Trusts’ holdings, as a duration management technique or to protect against an increase in the price of securities it anticipates purchasing at a later date. The purchaser and writer of a swaption is buying or granting the right to enter into a previously agreed upon interest rate or credit default swap agreement (interest rate risk and/or credit risk) at any time before the expiration of the option.

In purchasing and writing options, the Trusts bear the risk of an unfavorable change in the value of the underlying instrument or the risk that it may not be able to enter into a closing transaction due to an illiquid market. Exercise of a written option could result in the Trust purchasing or selling a security when it otherwise would not, or at a price different from the current market value.

Swaps: Swap contracts are entered into to manage exposure to issuers, markets and securities. Such contracts are agreements between the Trusts and a counterparty to make periodic net payments on a specified notional amount or a net payment upon termination. Swap agreements are privately negotiated in the OTC market and may be entered into as a bilateral contract (“OTC swaps”) or centrally cleared (“centrally cleared swaps”).

For OTC swaps, any upfront premiums paid and any upfront fees received are shown as swap premiums paid and swap premiums received, respectively, in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities and amortized over the term of the contract. The daily fluctuation in market value is recorded as unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on OTC Swaps in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. Payments received or paid are recorded in the Statements of Operations as realized gains or losses, respectively. When an OTC swap is terminated, a realized gain or loss is recorded in the Statements of Operations equal to the difference between the proceeds from (or cost of) the closing transaction and the Trust’s basis in the contract, if any. Generally, the basis of the contract is the premium received or paid.

In a centrally cleared swap, immediately following execution of the swap contract, the swap contract is novated to a central counterparty (the “CCP”) and the Trust’s counterparty on the swap agreement becomes the CCP. The Trusts are required to interface with the CCP through the broker. Upon entering into a centrally cleared swap, the Trusts are required to deposit initial margin with the broker in the form of cash or securities in an amount that varies depending on the size and risk profile of the particular swap. Securities deposited as initial margin are designated in the Schedules of Investments and cash deposited is shown as cash pledged for centrally cleared swaps in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. Amounts pledged, which are considered restricted cash, are included in cash pledged for centrally cleared swaps in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. Pursuant to the contract, the Trusts agree to receive from or pay to the broker an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in market value of the contract (“variation margin”). Variation margin is recorded as unrealized appreciation (depreciation) and shown as variation margin receivable (or payable) on centrally cleared swaps in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. Payments received from (paid to) the counterparty, including at termination, are recorded as realized gains (losses) in the Statements of Operations.

 

   

Credit default swaps — Credit default swaps are entered into to manage exposure to the market or certain sectors of the market, to reduce risk exposure to defaults of corporate and/or sovereign issuers or to create exposure to corporate and/or sovereign issuers to which a trust is not otherwise exposed (credit risk).

The Trusts may either buy or sell (write) credit default swaps on single-name issuers (corporate or sovereign), a combination or basket of single-name issuers or traded indexes. Credit default swaps are agreements in which the protection buyer pays fixed periodic payments to the seller in consideration for a promise from the protection seller to make a specific payment should a negative credit event take place with respect to the referenced entity (e.g., bankruptcy, failure to pay, obligation acceleration, repudiation, moratorium or restructuring). As a buyer, if an underlying credit event occurs, the Trusts will either (i) receive from the seller an amount equal to the notional amount of the swap and deliver the referenced security or underlying securities comprising the index, or (ii) receive a net settlement of cash equal to the notional amount of the swap less the recovery value of the security or underlying securities comprising the index. As a seller (writer), if an underlying credit event occurs, the Trust will either pay the buyer an amount equal to the notional amount of the swap and take delivery of the referenced security or underlying securities comprising the index or pay a net settlement of cash equal to the notional amount of the swap less the recovery value of the security or underlying securities comprising the index.

 

   

Interest rate swaps — Interest rate swaps are entered into to gain or reduce exposure to interest rates or to manage duration, the yield curve or interest rate (interest rate risk).

Interest rate swaps are agreements in which one party pays a stream of interest payments, either fixed or floating, in exchange for another party’s stream of interest payments, either fixed or floating, on the same notional amount for a specified period of time. In more complex interest rate swaps, the notional principal amount may decline (or amortize) over time.

 

 

46    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Notes to Financial Statements  (continued)

 

Swap transactions involve, to varying degrees, elements of interest rate, credit and market risk in excess of the amounts recognized in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. Such risks involve the possibility that there will be no liquid market for these agreements, that the counterparty to the agreements may default on its obligation to perform or disagree as to the meaning of the contractual terms in the agreements, and that there may be unfavorable changes in interest rates and/or market values associated with these transactions.

Master Netting Arrangements: In order to define their contractual rights and to secure rights that will help them mitigate their counterparty risk, the Trusts may enter into an International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. Master Agreement (“ISDA Master Agreement”) or similar agreement with their counterparties. An ISDA Master Agreement is a bilateral agreement between each Trust and a counterparty that governs certain OTC derivatives and typically contains, among other things, collateral posting terms and netting provisions in the event of a default and/or termination event. Under an ISDA Master Agreement, each Trust may, under certain circumstances, offset with the counterparty certain derivative financial instruments’ payables and/or receivables with collateral held and/or posted and create one single net payment. The provisions of the ISDA Master Agreement typically permit a single net payment in the event of default including the bankruptcy or insolvency of the counterparty. Bankruptcy or insolvency laws of a particular jurisdiction may restrict or prohibit the right of offset in bankruptcy, insolvency or other events.

Collateral Requirements: For derivatives traded under an ISDA Master Agreement, the collateral requirements are typically calculated by netting the mark-to-market amount for each transaction under such agreement and comparing that amount to the value of any collateral currently pledged by the Trust and the counterparty.

Cash collateral that has been pledged to cover obligations of the Trusts and cash collateral received from the counterparty, if any, is reported separately in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities as cash pledged as collateral and cash received as collateral, respectively. Non-cash collateral pledged by the Trusts, if any, is noted in the Schedules of Investments. Generally, the amount of collateral due from or to a counterparty is subject to a certain minimum transfer amount threshold before a transfer is required, which is determined at the close of business of the Trusts. Any additional required collateral is delivered to/pledged by the Trusts on the next business day. Typically, the counterparty is not permitted to sell, re-pledge or use cash and non-cash collateral it receives. A Trust generally agrees not to use non-cash collateral that it receives but may, absent default or certain other circumstances defined in the underlying ISDA Master Agreement, be permitted to use cash collateral received. In such cases, interest may be paid pursuant to the collateral arrangement with the counterparty. To the extent amounts due to the Trusts from their counterparties are not fully collateralized, they bear the risk of loss from counterparty non-performance. Likewise, to the extent the Trusts have delivered collateral to a counterparty and stand ready to perform under the terms of their agreement with such counterparty, they bear the risk of loss from a counterparty in the amount of the value of the collateral in the event the counterparty fails to return such collateral. Based on the terms of agreements, collateral may not be required for all derivative contracts.

For financial reporting purposes, the Trusts do not offset derivative assets and derivative liabilities that are subject to netting arrangements, if any, in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

 

6.

INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Each Trust entered into an Investment Advisory Agreement with the Manager, the Trust’s investment adviser and an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, to provide investment advisory and administrative services. The Manager is responsible for the management of each Trust’s portfolio and provides the personnel, facilities, equipment and certain other services necessary to the operations of each Trust.

For such services, BGIO pays the Manager a monthly fee at an annual rate equal to 0.60% of the average daily value of the Trust’s managed assets. For purposes of calculating this fee, “managed assets” means the total assets of the Trust (including any assets attributable to money borrowed for investment purposes) minus the sum of its accrued liabilities (other than money borrowed for investment purposes).

For such services, BKT pays the Manager a monthly fee at an annual rate equal to 0.65% of the average weekly value of the Trust’s net assets. For purposes of calculating this fee, “net assets” means the total assets of the Trust minus the sum of its accrued liabilities (including the aggregate indebtedness constituting financial leverage).

With respect to BGIO, the Manager entered into sub-advisory agreements with BlackRock International Limited (“BIL”) and BlackRock (Singapore) Limited (“BRS”), each an affiliate of the Manager. The Manager pays BIL and BRS, for services it provides for that portion of BGIO for which it acts as sub-adviser, a monthly fee that is equal to a percentage of the investment advisory fees paid by BGIO to the Manager.

Administration: BKT has an Administration Agreement with the Manager. The administration fee paid monthly to the Manager is computed at an annual rate of 0.15% of the Trust’s average weekly net assets. For BKT, the Manager may reduce or discontinue these arrangements at any time without notice.

Expense Waivers: With respect to each Trust, the Manager voluntarily agreed to waive its investment advisory fees by the amount of investment advisory fees each Trust pays to the Manager indirectly through its investment in affiliated money market funds (the “affiliated money market fund waiver”). These amounts are included in fees waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager in the Statements of Operations. For the year and period ended December 31, 2018, the amounts waived were as follows:

 

     BGIO      BKT  

Amounts waived

  $ 4,771      $ 1,854  

For the year ended August 31, 2018 BKT waived $6,397 pursuant to this agreement.

The Manager contractually agreed to waive its investment advisory fee with respect to any portion of each Trust’s assets invested in affiliated equity and fixed-income mutual funds and affiliated exchange-traded funds that have a contractual management fee through June 30, 2019. The agreement can be renewed for annual periods thereafter, and may be terminated on 90 days’ notice, each subject to approval by a majority of the Trust’s Independent Trustees.

Trustees and Officers: Certain Trustees and/or officers of the Trusts are directors and/or officers of BlackRock or its affiliates. The Trusts reimburse the Manager for a portion of the compensation paid to the Trusts’ Chief Compliance Officer, which is included in Trustees and Officer in the Statements of Operations.

 

 

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS      47  


Notes to Financial Statements  (continued)

 

Other Transactions: The Trusts may purchase securities from, or sell securities to, an affiliated fund provided the affiliation is due solely to having a common investment adviser, common officers, or common trustees. For the year and period ended December 31, 2018, the purchase and sale transactions and any net realized gains (losses) with an affiliated fund in compliance with Rule 17a-7 under the 1940 Act were as follows:

 

     Purchases      Sales      Net Realized Gain  

BGIO

  $ 321,935      $      $  

During the year ended December 31, 2018, BGIO received a reimbursement of $1,387 from an affiliate, which is included in realized gain/loss in the Statements of Operations, related to an operating event.

 

7.

PURCHASES AND SALES

For the year and period ended December 31, 2018, purchases and sales of investments, including paydowns, mortgage dollar rolls and excluding short-term securities were as follows:

 

Purchases  
     BGIO      BKT  

Non-U.S. Government Securities

  $ 219,994,064      $ 487,059,329  

 

Sales  
     BGIO      BKT  

Non-U.S. Government Securities

  $ 280,768,965      $ 483,356,043  

For the year and period ended December 31, 2018, purchases and sales related to mortgage dollar rolls were as follows:

 

     Purchases      Sales  

BGIO

  $ 11,952,217      $ 11,968,486  

BKT

    257,399,777        257,125,426  

 

8.

INCOME TAX INFORMATION

It is each Trust’s policy to comply with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, applicable to regulated investment companies, and to distribute substantially all of its taxable income to its shareholders. Therefore, no U.S. federal income tax provision is required.

Each Trust files U.S. federal and various state and local tax returns. No income tax returns are currently under examination. The statute of limitations on BGIO and BKT’s U.S. federal tax returns generally remain open, for BGIO, for period ended December 31, 2017 and year ended December 31, 2018 and for BKT, each of the four years ended August 31, 2018 and period ended December 31, 2018. The statutes of limitations on each Trust’s state and local tax returns may remain open for an additional year depending upon the jurisdiction.

Management has analyzed tax laws and regulations and their application to the Trusts as of December 31, 2018, inclusive of the open tax return years, and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability in the Trust’s financial statements.

The tax character of distributions paid was as follows:

 

     BGIO      BKT  

Ordinary income

    

12/31/18

  $ 13,277,327.00      $ 8,502,470.00  

08/31/18

           19,309,786.00  

12/31/17

    11,476,197.00         

08/31/17

           20,333,729.00  

Return of Capital

    

12/31/18

           2,470,634.00  

08/31/18

       1,505,499.00  

12/31/17

            

08/31/17

            
 

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

    

12/31/18

  $ 13,277,327      $ 10,973,104  
 

 

 

    

 

 

 

08/31/18

  $      $ 20,815,285  
 

 

 

    

 

 

 

12/31/17

  $ 11,476,197      $  
 

 

 

    

 

 

 

08/31/17

  $      $ 20,333,729  
 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

48    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Notes to Financial Statements  (continued)

 

As of period end, the tax components of accumulated net losses were as follows:

 

     BGIO     BKT  

Capital loss carryforwards

  $ (5,005,013   $ (45,881,918

Net unrealized gains (losses)(a)

    (14,253,773     (28,920,457
 

 

 

   

 

 

 
  $ (19,258,786   $ (74,802,375
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

The difference between book-basis and tax-basis net unrealized gains (losses) was attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales and straddles, the realization for tax purposes of unrealized gains/losses on certain futures and foreign currency contracts, the classification of investments, the accounting for swap agreements, and the timing of distributions.

 

As of December 31, 2018, the Trusts had capital loss carryforwards, with no expiration dates, available to offset future realized capital gains as follows:

 

     BGIO      BKT  

No expiration date

  $ 5,005,013      $ 45,881,918  

As of December 31, 2018, gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation for investments and derivatives based on cost for U.S. federal income tax purposes were as follows:

 

     BGIO     BKT  

Tax cost

  $ 256,675,513     $ 629,673,736  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

    1,556,245       14,162,719  

Gross unrealized depreciation

    (15,254,910     (40,690,259
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net unrealized depreciation

  $ (13,698,665   $ (26,527,540
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

9.

PRINCIPAL RISKS

In the normal course of business, certain Trusts invest in securities or other instruments and may enter into certain transactions, and such activities subject each Trust to various risks, including among others, fluctuations in the market (market risk) or failure of an issuer to meet all of its obligations. The value of securities or other instruments may also be affected by various factors, including, without limitation: (i) the general economy; (ii) the overall market as well as local, regional or global political and/or social instability; (iii) regulation, taxation or international tax treaties between various countries; or (iv) currency, interest rate and price fluctuations

Each Trust may be exposed to prepayment risk, which is the risk that borrowers may exercise their option to prepay principal earlier than scheduled during periods of declining interest rates, which would force each Trust to reinvest in lower yielding securities. Each Trust may also be exposed to reinvestment risk, which is the risk that income from each Trust’s portfolio will decline if each Trust invests the proceeds from matured, traded or called fixed-income securities at market interest rates that are below each Trust portfolio’s current earnings rate.

BGIO will terminate on or about February 28, 2022. BGIO is not a target term fund and thus does not seek to return its initial public offering price of $10.00 per common share upon termination. The final distribution of net assets upon termination may be more than, equal to or less than $10.00 per common share.

Investment Objective Risk: There is no assurance that BGIO will achieve its investment objective. A variety of circumstances may make it extremely difficult for BGIO to achieve its investment objective. Such circumstances include, but may not be limited to, the existence of an inverted yield curve, a rapid and significant increase in interest rates, a significant decrease in issuer credit quality generally and/or increased defaults, increased volatility in currency markets and/or in currency exchange rates and negative economic, market, political and/or social developments impacting emerging markets. Additionally, the limited term of the Trust may increase the risk that BGIO may not meet its investment objective. A limited term limits the period during which BGIO can generate returns and increases the potential impact that a disruptive market event or one or more of the conditions outlined above could have on BGIO’s annualized returns.

Valuation Risk: The price a Trust could receive upon the sale of any particular portfolio investment may differ from a Trust’s valuation of the investment, particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair valuation technique or a price provided by an independent pricing service. Changes to significant unobservable inputs and assumptions (i.e., publicly traded company multiples, growth rate, time to exit) due to the lack of observable inputs may significantly impact the resulting fair value and therefore a Trust’s results of operations. As a result, the price received upon the sale of an investment may be less than the value ascribed by a Trust, and a Trust could realize a greater than expected loss or lesser than expected gain upon the sale of the investment. A Trust’s ability to value its investments may also be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by pricing services or other third party service providers.

Counterparty Credit Risk: The Trusts may be exposed to counterparty credit risk, or the risk that an entity may fail to or be unable to perform on its commitments related to unsettled or open transactions. The Trusts manage counterparty credit risk by entering into transactions only with counterparties that the Manager believes have the financial resources to honor their obligations and by monitoring the financial stability of those counterparties. Financial assets, which potentially expose the Trusts to market, issuer and counterparty credit risks, consist principally of financial instruments and receivables due from counterparties. The extent of the Trust’s exposure to market, issuer and counterparty credit risks with respect to these financial assets is approximately their value recorded in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities, less any collateral held by the Trusts.

A derivative contract may suffer a mark-to-market loss if the value of the contract decreases due to an unfavorable change in the market rates or values of the underlying instrument. Losses can also occur if the counterparty does not perform under the contract.

 

 

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS      49  


Notes to Financial Statements  (continued)

 

A Trust’s risk of loss from counterparty credit risk on OTC derivatives is generally limited to the aggregate unrealized gain less the value of any collateral held by such Trust.

For OTC options purchased, each Trust bears the risk of loss in the amount of the premiums paid plus the positive change in market values net of any collateral held by the Trusts should the counterparty fail to perform under the contracts. Options written by the Trusts do not typically give rise to counterparty credit risk, as options written generally obligate the Trusts, and not the counterparty, to perform. The Trusts may be exposed to counterparty credit risk with respect to options written to the extent the Trusts deposits collateral with its counterparty to a written option.

With exchange-traded futures and centrally cleared swaps, there is less counterparty credit risk to the Trusts since the exchange or clearinghouse, as counterparty to such instruments, guarantees against a possible default. The clearinghouse stands between the buyer and the seller of the contract; therefore, credit risk is limited to failure of the clearinghouse. While offset rights may exist under applicable law, the Trusts does not have a contractual right of offset against a clearing broker or clearinghouse in the event of a default (including the bankruptcy or insolvency). Additionally, credit risk exists in exchange-traded futures and centrally cleared swaps with respect to initial and variation margin that is held in a clearing broker’s customer accounts. While clearing brokers are required to segregate customer margin from their own assets, in the event that a clearing broker becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy and at that time there is a shortfall in the aggregate amount of margin held by the clearing broker for all its clients, typically the shortfall would be allocated on a pro rata basis across all the clearing broker’s customers, potentially resulting in losses to the Trusts.

Concentration Risk: BGIO may invest in securities that are rated below investment grade quality (sometimes called “junk bonds”), which are predominantly speculative, have greater credit risk and generally are less liquid and have more volatile prices than higher quality securities.

Certain Trusts invest a significant portion of their assets in fixed-income securities and/or uses derivatives tied to the fixed-income markets. Changes in market interest rates or economic conditions may affect the value and/or liquidity of such investments. Interest rate risk is the risk that prices of bonds and other fixed-income securities will increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. The Trusts may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates. The Federal Reserve has begun to raise the Federal Funds rate, and each increase results in more pronounced interest rate risk in the current market environment.

Certain Trusts invest a significant portion of their assets in securities backed by commercial or residential mortgage loans or in issuers that hold mortgage and other asset-backed securities. Investment percentages in these securities are presented in the Schedules of Investments. Changes in economic conditions, including delinquencies and/or defaults on assets underlying these securities, can affect the value, income and/or liquidity of such positions.

 

10.

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

BGIO is authorized to issue an unlimited numbers of shares, par value $0.001, all of which were initially classified as Common Shares. BKT is authorized to issue 200 million shares, par value $0.01, all of which were initially classified as Common Shares. The Board is authorized, however, to reclassify any unissued Common Shares to Preferred Shares without the approval of Common Shareholders.

For the year ended December 31, 2018, for BGIO, shares issued and outstanding remained constant.

For BGIO, shares issued and outstanding for the period February 27, 2017 to December 31, 2017, increased by 32,321 as a result of dividend reinvestment and 21,000,000 from the initial public offering and 1,078,639 from the underwriters’ exercising the over-allotment option.

BKT participates in an open market share repurchase program (the “Repurchase Program”). Under the program, BKT was permitted to repurchase up to 5% of its outstanding common shares from December 1, 2017 through November 30, 2018, based on common shares outstanding as of the close of business on November 30, 2017, subject to certain conditions. On September 7, 2018, BKT announced a continuation of the Repurchase Program. Commencing on December 1, 2018, BKT may repurchase up to 5% of its outstanding common shares through November 30, 2019, based on common shares outstanding as of the close of business on November 30, 2018, subject to certain conditions. There is no assurance that BKT will purchase shares in any particular amounts. The total amount of the repurchase offer is reflected in BKT’s Statements of Changes in Net Assets.

For the year shown, shares repurchased and cost, including transaction costs, were as follows:

 

BKT   Shares      Amount  

Year ended August 31, 2018

    145,423      $ 854,488  

Year ended August 31, 2017

            

During the period from September 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018 there were no shares repurchased.

As of December 31, 2018, BlackRock HoldCo 2, Inc., an affiliate of the Trust, owned 17,919 shares of BGIO.

 

11.

REGULATION S-X AMENDMENTS

On August 17, 2018, the SEC adopted amendments to certain disclosure requirements in Securities Act Release No. 33-10532, Disclosure Update and Simplification. The Trusts have adopted the amendments pertinent to Regulation S-X in this shareholder report. The amendments impacted certain disclosure presentation on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities, Statements of Changes in Net Assets and Notes to Financial Statements.

Prior year distribution information and undistributed (distributions in excess of) net investment income in the Statements of Changes in Net Assets has been modified to conform to the current year presentation in accordance with the Regulation S-X changes.

 

 

50    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Notes to Financial Statements  (continued)

 

Distributions were classified as follows:

 

     Year Ended     Net Investment Income      Net Realized Gain      Return of Capital  

BGIO

    December 31, 2017 (a)     $ 11,218,021      $ 258,176      $  

BKT

    August 31, 2018       19,309,786               1,505,499  
    August 31, 2017       20,333,729                

 

  (a)

For the period February 27, 2017 to December 31, 2017.

 

Undistributed (distributions in excess of) net investment income were as follows:

 

     Year Ended     Undistributed (Distributions in Excess of)
Net Investment Income
 

BGIO

    December 31, 2017 (a)     $ 19,340  

BKT

    August 31, 2018       (224,216
    August 31, 2017       1,678,462  

 

  (a)

For the period February 27, 2017 to December 31, 2017.

 

 

12.

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Management’s evaluation of the impact of all subsequent events on the Trusts’ financial statements was completed through the date the financial statements were issued and the following items were noted:

 

     Common Dividend
Per Share
 
     Paid (a)     Declared (b)  

BGIO

  $ 0.05000     $ 0.05000  

BKT

    0.034400       0.034400  

 

  (a) 

Net investment income dividend paid on January 9, 2019 to Common Shareholders of record on December 31, 2018.

 
  (b) 

Net investment income dividend declared on February 1, 2019, payable to shareholders of record on February 15, 2019.

 

 

 

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS      51  


Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

To the Shareholders and Board of Trustees of BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust and BlackRock Income Trust, Inc.:

Opinion on the Financial Statements and Financial Highlights

We have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities of BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust and BlackRock Income Trust, Inc. (the “Funds”), including the schedules of investments, as of December 31, 2018, the related statements of operations, cash flows, changes in net assets, and the financial highlights for the periods indicated in the table below, and the related notes. In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Funds as of December 31, 2018, and the results of their operations and their cash flows, the changes in their net assets, and the financial highlights for the periods indicated in the table below, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

 

Fund   Statement of Operations and Cash Flows   Statements of Changes in Net Assets   Financial Highlights

BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust

  For year ended December 31, 2018   For the year ended December 31, 2018 and the period from February 27, 2017 (commencement of operations) through December 31, 2017

BlackRock Income Trust, Inc.

  For the period from September 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018 and for the year ended August 31, 2018   For the period from September 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018 and for each of the two years in the period ended August 31, 2018   For the period from September 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018 and for each of the five years in the period ended August 31, 2018

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Funds’ management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Funds’ financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Funds in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Funds are not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of their internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Funds’ internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements and financial highlights, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements and financial highlights. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements and financial highlights. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of December 31, 2018, by correspondence with the custodian, agent banks and brokers; when replies were not received from agent banks or brokers, we performed other auditing procedures. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Deloitte & Touche LLP

Boston, Massachusetts

February 26, 2019

We have served as the auditor of one or more BlackRock investment companies since 1992.

 

 

Important Tax Information  (unaudited)

During fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, the following information is provided with respect to the ordinary income distribution paid by the Trusts:

 

     Month Paid    BGIO      BKT  

Interest-Related  Dividends and Qualified Short-Term Gains for Non-U.S. Residents(a)

  February 2018      44.76       
  March 2018-December 2018      41.67       
    September 2018-December 2018             100.00

 

  (a) 

Represents the portion of the taxable ordinary distributions eligible for exemption from U.S. withholding tax for nonresident aliens and foreign corporations.

 

 

 

52    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Automatic Dividend Reinvestment Plan

 

Pursuant to each Trust’s Dividend Reinvestment Plan (the “Reinvestment Plan”), Common Shareholders are automatically enrolled to have all distributions of dividends and capital gains and other distributions reinvested by Computershare Trust Company, N.A. (the “Reinvestment Plan Agent”) in the respective Trust’s Common Shares pursuant to the Reinvestment Plan. Shareholders who do not participate in the Reinvestment Plan will receive all distributions in cash paid by check and mailed directly to the shareholders of record (or if the shares are held in street name or other nominee name, then to the nominee) by the Reinvestment Plan Agent, which serves as agent for the shareholders in administering the Reinvestment Plan.

After the Trusts declare a dividend or determines to make a capital gain or other distribution, the Reinvestment Plan Agent will acquire shares for the participants’ accounts, depending upon the following circumstances, either (i) through receipt of unissued but authorized shares from the Trusts (“newly issued shares”) or (ii) by purchase of outstanding shares on the open market or on the Trust’s primary exchange (“open-market purchases”). If, on the dividend payment date, the net asset value per share (“NAV”) is equal to or less than the market price per share plus estimated brokerage commissions (such condition often referred to as a “market premium”), the Reinvestment Plan Agent will invest the dividend amount in newly issued shares acquired on behalf of the participants. The number of newly issued shares to be credited to each participant’s account will be determined by dividing the dollar amount of the dividend by the NAV on the date the shares are issued. However, if the NAV is less than 95% of the market price on the dividend payment date, the dollar amount of the dividend will be divided by 95% of the market price on the dividend payment date. If, on the dividend payment date, the NAV is greater than the market price per share plus estimated brokerage commissions (such condition often referred to as a “market discount”), the Reinvestment Plan Agent will invest the dividend amount in shares acquired on behalf of the participants in open-market purchases. If the Reinvestment Plan Agent is unable to invest the full dividend amount in open-market purchases, or if the market discount shifts to a market premium during the purchase period, the Reinvestment Plan Agent will invest any un-invested portion in newly issued shares. Investments in newly issued shares made in this manner would be made pursuant to the same process described above and the date of issue for such newly issued shares will substitute for the dividend payment date.

You may elect not to participate in the Reinvestment Plan and to receive all dividends in cash by contacting the Reinvestment Plan Agent, at the address set forth below.

Participation in the Reinvestment Plan is completely voluntary and may be terminated or resumed at any time without penalty by notice if received and processed by the Reinvestment Plan Agent prior to the dividend record date. Additionally, the Reinvestment Plan Agent seeks to process notices received after the record date but prior to the payable date and such notices often will become effective by the payable date. Where late notices are not processed by the applicable payable date, such termination or resumption will be effective with respect to any subsequently declared dividend or other distribution.

The Reinvestment Plan Agent’s fees for the handling of the reinvestment of distributions will be paid by each Trust. However, each participant will pay a pro rata share of brokerage commissions incurred with respect to the Reinvestment Plan Agent’s open-market purchases in connection with the reinvestment of all distributions. The automatic reinvestment of all distributions will not relieve participants of any U.S. federal, state or local income tax that may be payable on such dividends or distributions.

Each Trust reserves the right to amend or terminate the Reinvestment Plan. There is no direct service charge to participants in the Reinvestment Plan; however, each Trust reserves the right to amend the Reinvestment Plan to include a service charge payable by the participants. Participants that request a sale of shares are subject to a $2.50 sales fee and a $0.15 per share fee. Per share fees include any applicable brokerage commissions the Reinvestment Plan Agent is required to pay. All correspondence concerning the Reinvestment Plan should be directed to Computershare Trust Company, N.A. through the internet at http://www.computershare.com/blackrock, or in writing to Computershare, P.O. Box 505000, Louisville, KY 40233, Telephone: (800) 699-1236. Overnight correspondence should be directed to the Reinvestment Plan Agent at Computershare, 462 South 4th Street, Suite 1600, Louisville, KY 40202.

 

 

AUTOMATIC DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLAN      53  


Trustee and Officer Information

 

Independent Trustees (a)
         
Name
Year of Birth
 (b)
   Position(s) Held
(Length of Service)
 (c)
   Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years   Number of BlackRock-Advised
Registered Investment Companies
(“RICs”) Consisting of
Investment  Portfolios
(“Portfolios”) Overseen
 (d)
  Public Company and Other
Investment Company
Directorships Held During
Past Five Years

Richard E. Cavanagh

1946

   Chair of the Board and Trustee
(Since 2007)
   Director, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America since 1998; Board Chair, Volunteers of America (a not-for-profit organization) from 2015 to 2018 (board member since 2009); Director, Arch Chemical (chemical and allied products) from 1999 to 2011; Trustee, Educational Testing Service from 1997 to 2009 and Chairman thereof from 2005 to 2009; Senior Advisor, The Fremont Group since 2008 and Director thereof since 1996; Faculty Member/Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard University since 2007 and Executive Dean from 1987 to 1995; President and Chief Executive Officer, The Conference Board, Inc. (global business research organization) from 1995 to 2007.   71 RICs consisting of 71 Portfolios   None

Karen P. Robards

1950

   Vice Chair of the Board and Trustee
(Since 2007)
   Principal of Robards & Company, LLC (consulting and private investing) since 1987; Co-founder and Director of the Cooke Center for Learning and Development (a not-for-profit organization) since 1987; Investment Banker at Morgan Stanley from 1976 to 1987.   71 RICs consisting of 71 Portfolios   Greenhill & Co., Inc.; AtriCure, Inc. (medical devices) from 2000 until 2017

Michael J. Castellano

1946

   Trustee
(Since 2011)
   Chief Financial Officer of Lazard Group LLC from 2001 to 2011; Chief Financial Officer of Lazard Ltd from 2004 to 2011; Director, Support Our Aging Religious (non-profit) from 2009 to June 2015 and since 2017; Director, National Advisory Board of Church Management at Villanova University since 2010; Trustee, Domestic Church Media Foundation since 2012; Director, CircleBlack Inc. (financial technology company) since 2015.   71 RICs consisting of 71 Portfolios   None

Cynthia L. Egan

1955

   Trustee
(Since 2016)
   Advisor, U.S. Department of the Treasury from 2014 to 2015; President, Retirement Plan Services for T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. from 2007 to 2012; executive positions within Fidelity Investments from 1989 to 2007.   71 RICs consisting of 71 Portfolios   Unum (insurance); The Hanover Insurance Group (insurance); Envestnet (investment platform) from 2013 until 2016

Frank J. Fabozzi

1948

   Trustee
(Since 2007)
   Editor of The Journal of Portfolio Management since 1986; Professor of Finance, EDHEC Business School (France) since 2011; Visiting Professor, Princeton University for the 2013 to 2014 academic year and Spring 2017 semester; Professor in the Practice of Finance, Yale University School of Management from 1994 to 2011 and currently a Teaching Fellow in Yale’s Executive Programs; affiliated professor Karlsruhe Institute of Technology from 2008 to 2011.   71 RICs consisting of 71 Portfolios   None

R. Glenn Hubbard

1958

   Trustee
(Since 2007)
   Dean, Columbia Business School since 2004; Faculty member, Columbia Business School since 1988.   71 RICs consisting of 71 Portfolios   ADP (data and information services); Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (insurance); KKR Financial Corporation (finance) from 2004 until 2014

W. Carl Kester

1951

   Trustee
(Since 2007)
   George Fisher Baker Jr. Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School since 2008, Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs from 2006 to 2010, Chairman of the Finance Unit, from 2005 to 2006, Senior Associate Dean and Chairman of the MBA Program from 1999 to 2005; Member of the faculty of Harvard Business School since 1981.   71 RICs consisting of 71 Portfolios   None

 

 

54    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Trustee and Officer Information  (continued)

 

Independent Trustees (a) (continued)
         
Name
Year of Birth
 (b)
   Position(s) Held
(Length of Service)
 (c)
   Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years   Number of BlackRock-Advised
Registered Investment Companies
(“RICs”) Consisting of
Investment  Portfolios
(“Portfolios”) Overseen
 (d)
  Public Company and Other
Investment Company
Directorships Held During
Past Five Years

Catherine A. Lynch

1961

   Trustee
(Since 2016)
   Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer and various other positions, National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust from 2003 to 2016; Associate Vice President for Treasury Management, The George Washington University from 1999 to 2003; Assistant Treasurer, Episcopal Church of America from 1995 to 1999.   71 RICs consisting of 71 Portfolios   None
Interested Trustees (a)(e)
         
Name
Year of Birth  (b)
   Position(s) Held
(Length of Service) (c)
   Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years   Number of BlackRock-Advised
Registered Investment Companies
(“RICs”) Consisting of
Investment Portfolios
(“Portfolios”) Overseen (d)
  Public Company and
Other Investment Company
Directorships Held During
Past Five Years

Robert Fairbairn

1965

   Trustee
(Since 2018)
   Senior Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2010; oversees BlackRock’s Strategic Partner Program and Strategic Product Management Group; Member of BlackRock’s Global Executive and Global Operating Committees; Co-Chair of BlackRock’s Human Capital Committee; Member of the Board of Managers of BlackRock Investments, LLC since 2011; Global Head of BlackRock’s Retail and iShares® businesses from 2012 to 2016.   127 RICs consisting of 304 Portfolios   None

John M. Perlowski

1964

   Trustee
(Since 2015)
President and Chief Executive Officer
(Since 2010)
   Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2009; Head of BlackRock Global Accounting and Product Services since 2009; Advisory Director of Family Resource Network (charitable foundation) since 2009.   127 RICs consisting of 304 Portfolios   None

(a) The address of each Trustee is c/o BlackRock, Inc., 55 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10055.

(b) Each Independent Trustee will serve until his or her successor is elected and qualifies, or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal, or until December 31 of the year in which he or she turns 75. The maximum age limitation may be waived as to any Trustee by action of a majority of the Trustees upon finding of good cause therefor.

(c) Following the combination of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, L.P. (“MLIM”) and BlackRock, Inc. (“BlackRock”) in September 2006, the various legacy MLIM and legacy BlackRock fund boards were realigned and consolidated into three new fund boards in 2007. As a result, although the chart shows certain Independent Trustees as joining the Board in 2007, each Trustee first became a member of the boards of other legacy MLIM or legacy BlackRock funds as follows: Richard E. Cavanagh, 1994; Frank J. Fabozzi, 1988; R. Glenn Hubbard, 2004; W. Carl Kester, 1995 and Karen P. Robards, 1998.

(d) For purposes of this chart, “RICs” refers to investment companies registered under the 1940 Act and “Portfolios” refers to the investment programs of the BlackRock-advised funds. The Closed-End Complex is comprised of 71 RICs consisting of 71 Portfolios. Mr. Fairbairn and Mr. Perlowski are also board members of the BlackRock Equity-Bond Complex and the BlackRock Equity-Liquidity Complex.

(e) Mr. Fairbairn and Mr. Perlowski are both “interested persons,” as defined in the 1940 Act, of the Trust(s) based on their positions with BlackRock and its affiliates. Mr. Fairbairn and Mr. Perlowski are also board members of the BlackRock Equity-Bond Complex and the BlackRock Equity-Liquidity Complex. Interested Trustees serve until their resignation, removal or death, or until December 31 of the year in which they turn 72. The maximum age limitation may be waived as to any Trustee by action of a majority of the Trustees upon a finding of good cause therefor.

 

 

TRUSTEE AND OFFICER INFORMATION      55  


Trustee and Officer Information  (continued)

 

 

Officers Who Are Not Trustees (a)
     
Name
Year of Birth
 (b)
   Position(s) Held
(Length of Service)
   Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years

Jonathan Diorio

1980

  

Vice President

(Since 2015)

   Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2015; Director of BlackRock, Inc. from 2011 to 2015.

Neal J. Andrews

1966

   Chief Financial Officer
(Since 2007)
   Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2006.

Jay M. Fife

1970

   Treasurer
(Since 2007)
   Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2007.

Charles Park

1967

   Chief Compliance Officer (Since 2014)    Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer for the BlackRock-advised Funds in the Equity-Bond Complex, the Equity-Liquidity Complex and the Closed-End Complex from 2014 to 2015; Chief Compliance Officer of BlackRock Advisors, LLC and the BlackRock-advised Funds in the Equity-Bond Complex, the Equity-Liquidity Complex and the Closed-End Complex since 2014; Principal of and Chief Compliance Officer for iShares® Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC since 2012 and BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”) since 2006; Chief Compliance Officer for the BFA-advised iShares® exchange traded funds since 2006; Chief Compliance Officer for BlackRock Asset Management International Inc. since 2012.

Janey Ahn

1975

   Secretary
(Since 2012)
   Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2018; Director of BlackRock, Inc. from 2009 to 2017.

(a) The address of each Officer is c/o BlackRock, Inc., 55 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10055.

(b) Officers of the Trust serve at the pleasure of the Board.

 

Effective January 1, 2019, Henry Gabbay is appointed as an Independent Trustee of the Trusts.

 

Investment Adviser

BlackRock Advisors, LLC

Wilmington, DE 19809

Sub-Advisers

BlackRock International Limited

Edinburgh, EH3 8BL(a)

BlackRock (Singapore) Limited

079912 SIngapore(a)

Accounting Agent and Custodian

State Street Bank and Trust Company

Boston, MA 02111

Transfer Agent

Computershare Trust Company, N.A.

Canton, MA 02021

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Deloitte & Touche LLP

Boston, MA 02116

Legal Counsel

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Boston, MA 02116

Address of the Trust

100 Bellevue Parkway

Wilmington, DE 19809

 

 

(a) 

For BGIO.

 

 

56    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Additional Information

 

Proxy Results

The adjourned Annual Meeting of Shareholders was held on August 27, 2018 for shareholders of record on May 31, 2018, to elect director nominees for BlackRock 2022 Global Income Opportunity Trust. There were no broker non-votes with regard to the Trust.

Shareholders elected the Class II Trustees and Class III Trustee as follows:

 

  

 

  Robert Fairbairn (a)     R. Glenn Hubbard (b)     W. Carl Kester (b)     John M. Perlowski (b)     Karen P. Robards (b)  
     Votes For     Votes Withheld     Votes For     Votes Withheld     Votes For     Votes Withheld     Votes For     Votes Withheld     Votes For     Votes Withheld  

BGIO

    20,339,220       185,042       20,316,725       207,537       20,341,278       182,984       20,333,290       190,972       20,323,261       201,001  

 

  (a) 

Class III Trustee.

 
  (b) 

Class II Trustee.

 

For the Trust listed above, Trustees whose term of office continued after the Annual Meeting of Shareholders because they were not up for election are Michael J. Castellano, Richard E. Cavanagh, Cynthia L. Egan, Frank J. Fabozzi, and Catherine A. Lynch.

Trust Certification

The Trusts are listed for trading on the NYSE and have filed with the NYSE their annual chief executive officer certification regarding compliance with the NYSE’s listing standards. The Trusts filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) the certification of their chief executive officer and chief financial officer required by section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Dividend Policy

Each Trust’s dividend policy is to distribute all or a portion of its net investment income to its shareholders on a monthly basis. In order to provide shareholders with a more stable level of dividend distributions, the distributions paid by the Trusts for any particular month may be more or less than the amount of net investment income earned by the Trusts during such month. The portion of distributions that exceeds a Trust’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, which are measured on a tax basis, will constitute a nontaxable return of capital. Distributions in excess of a Trust’s taxable income and net capital gains, but not in excess of a Trust’s earnings and profits, will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income and will not constitute a nontaxable return of capital. The Trusts’ current accumulated but undistributed net investment income, if any, is disclosed in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities, which comprises part of the financial information included in this report.

General Information

The Trusts do not make available copies of its Statement of Additional Information because the Trusts’ shares are not continuously offered, which means that the Statement of Additional Information of each Trust has not been updated after completion of the respective Trust’s offerings and the information contained in each Trust’s Statement of Additional Information may have become outdated.

During the period, there were no material changes in the Trusts’ investment objectives or policies or to the Trusts’ charters or by-laws that would delay or prevent a change of control of the Trusts that were not approved by the shareholders or in the principal risk factors associated with investment in the Trusts. There have been no changes in the persons who are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Trusts’ portfolio.

In accordance with Section 23(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, each Trust may from time to time purchase shares of its common stock in the open market or in private transactions.

Quarterly performance, semi-annual and annual reports, current net asset value and other information regarding the Trusts’ may be found on BlackRock’s website, which can be accessed at http://www.blackrock.com. Any reference to BlackRock’s website in this report is intended to allow investors public access to information regarding the Trusts and does not, and is not intended to, incorporate BlackRock’s website in this report.

BlackRock, Inc. or its subsidiaries (“BlackRock”) has entered into an arrangement with Markit Indices Limited (“Markit”) related to derivative fixed-income products that are based on certain iShares exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). Markit is the index provider for underlying fixed-income indexes used by such iShares ETFs. In connection with these derivative products, BlackRock will receive payments for licensing intellectual property belonging to BlackRock and for facilitating provision of data in connection with such derivative products. These payments may be based on the trading volumes of, or revenues generated by, such products. The Funds may transact in such products where permitted by the Fund’s investment strategy. These transactions could contribute to the viability of such products, potentially leading to increased payments to BlackRock, greater liquidity for such products, increased purchases of the applicable iShares ETFs and increased assets under management for BlackRock.

Electronic Delivery

Shareholders can sign up for e-mail notifications of quarterly statements, annual and semi-annual shareholder reports by enrolling in the electronic delivery program. Electronic copies of shareholder reports are available on BlackRock’s website.

To enroll in electronic delivery:

Shareholders Who Hold Accounts with Investment Advisers, Banks or Brokerages:

Please contact your financial advisor. Please note that not all investment advisers, banks or brokerages may offer this service.

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION      57  


Additional Information  (continued)

 

shareholder documents may be householded indefinitely unless you instruct us otherwise. If you do not want the mailing of these documents to be combined with those for other members of your household, please call the Trusts at (800) 882-0052.

Availability of Quarterly Schedule of Investments

The Trusts file their complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Trusts’ Form N-Q is available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. The Trusts’ Form N-Q may also be obtained upon request and without charge by calling (800) 882-0052.

Availability of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

A description of the policies and procedures that the Trusts use to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is available upon request and without charge (1) by calling (800) 882-0052; (2) at http://www.blackrock.com; and (3) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

Availability of Proxy Voting Record

Information about how the Trusts voted proxies relating to securities held in the Trusts’ portfolio during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available upon request and without charge (1) at http://www.blackrock.com; or by calling (800) 882-0052 and (2) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

Availability of Trust Updates

BlackRock will update performance and certain other data for the Trusts on a monthly basis on its website in the “Closed-end Funds” section of http://www.blackrock.com as well as certain other material information as necessary from time to time. Investors and others are advised to check the website for updated performance information and the release of other material information about the Trusts. This reference to BlackRock’s website is intended to allow investors public access to information regarding the Trusts and does not, and is not intended to, incorporate BlackRock’s website in this report.

BlackRock Privacy Principles

BlackRock is committed to maintaining the privacy of its current and former fund investors and individual clients (collectively, “Clients”) and to safeguarding their non-public personal information. The following information is provided to help you understand what personal information BlackRock collects, how we protect that information and why in certain cases we share such information with select parties.

If you are located in a jurisdiction where specific laws, rules or regulations require BlackRock to provide you with additional or different privacy-related rights beyond what is set forth below, then BlackRock will comply with those specific laws, rules or regulations.

BlackRock obtains or verifies personal non-public information from and about you from different sources, including the following: (i) information we receive from you or, if applicable, your financial intermediary, on applications, forms or other documents; (ii) information about your transactions with us, our affiliates, or others; (iii) information we receive from a consumer reporting agency; and (iv) from visits to our websites.

BlackRock does not sell or disclose to non-affiliated third parties any non-public personal information about its Clients, except as permitted by law or as is necessary to respond to regulatory requests or to service Client accounts. These non-affiliated third parties are required to protect the confidentiality and security of this information and to use it only for its intended purpose.

We may share information with our affiliates to service your account or to provide you with information about other BlackRock products or services that may be of interest to you. In addition, BlackRock restricts access to non-public personal information about its Clients to those BlackRock employees with a legitimate business need for the information. BlackRock maintains physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that are designed to protect the non-public personal information of its Clients, including procedures relating to the proper storage and disposal of such information.

 

 

58    2018 BLACKROCK ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS


Glossary of Terms Used in this Report

 

Currency
ARS    Argentine Peso
EUR    Euro
GBP    British Pound
HKD    Hong Kong Dollar
IDR    Indonesian Rupiah
USD    U.S. Dollar
Portfolio Abbreviations
ABS    Asset-Backed Security
CLO    Collateralized Loan Obligation
CME    Chicago Mercantile Exchange
CR    Custodian Receipt
LIBOR    London Interbank Offered Rate
OTC    Over-the-Counter
PIK    Payment-In-Kind
 

 

 

GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN THIS REPORT      59  


This report is intended for current holders. It is not a prospectus. Past performance results shown in this report should not be considered a representation of future performance. The Trusts have leveraged their Common Shares, which creates risks for Common Shareholders, including the likelihood of greater volatility of net asset value and market price of the Common Shares, and the risk that fluctuations in short-term interest rates may reduce the Common Shares’ yield. Statements and other information herein are as dated and are subject to change.

 

LOGO

 

 

BGIO-12/18-AR    LOGO


Item 2 –

Code of Ethics – The registrant (or the “Fund”) has adopted a code of ethics, as of the end of the period covered by this report, applicable to the registrant’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions. During the period covered by this report, the code of ethics was amended to update certain information and to make other non-material changes. During the period covered by this report, there have been no waivers granted under the code of ethics. The registrant undertakes to provide a copy of the code of ethics to any person upon request, without charge, who calls 1-800-882-0052, option 4.

 

Item 3 –

Audit Committee Financial Expert – The registrant’s board of directors (the “board of directors”), has determined that (i) the registrant has the following audit committee financial experts serving on its audit committee and (ii) each audit committee financial expert is independent:

Michael Castellano

Frank J. Fabozzi

Henry Gabbay

Catherine A. Lynch

Karen P. Robards

The registrant’s board of directors has determined that Karen P. Robards qualifies as a financial expert pursuant to Item 3(c)(4) of Form N-CSR.

Ms. Robards has a thorough understanding of generally accepted accounting principles, financial statements and internal control over financial reporting as well as audit committee functions. Ms. Robards has been principal of Robards & Company, a financial advisory firm, since 1987. Ms. Robards was formerly an investment banker for more than 10 years where she was responsible for evaluating and assessing the performance of companies based on their financial results. Ms. Robards has over 30 years of experience analyzing financial statements. She also is a member of the audit committee of one publicly held company and a non-profit organization.

Under applicable securities laws, a person determined to be an audit committee financial expert will not be deemed an “expert” for any purpose, including without limitation for the purposes of Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933, as a result of being designated or identified as an audit committee financial expert. The designation or identification as an audit committee financial expert does not impose on such person any duties, obligations, or liabilities greater than the duties, obligations, and liabilities imposed on such person as a member of the audit committee and board of directors in the absence of such designation or identification. The designation or identification of a person as an audit committee financial expert does not affect the duties, obligations, or liability of any other member of the audit committee or board of directors.

 

Item 4 –

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

The following table presents fees billed by Deloitte & Touche LLP (“D&T”) in each of the last two fiscal years for the services rendered to the Fund:

 

2


      (a) Audit Fees    (b) Audit-Related Fees1    (c) Tax Fees2    (d) All Other Fees
Entity Name    Current
Fiscal Year
End
12/31/183
         Previous
Fiscal Year
End
08/31/18
         Current
Fiscal Year
End
12/31/183
        

Previous
Fiscal Year
End

08/31/18

        

Current
Fiscal Year
End

12/31/183

        

Previous
Fiscal Year
End

08/31/18

        

Current

Fiscal Year
End

12/31/183

        

Previous    
Fiscal Year    
End      

08/31/18      

BlackRock Income

Trust, Inc.

   $117,831         $62,029         $0         $0         $6,700         $6,732         $0         $0

The following table presents fees billed by D&T that were required to be approved by the registrant’s audit committee (the “Committee”) for services that relate directly to the operations or financial reporting of the Fund and that are rendered on behalf of BlackRock Advisors, LLC (“Investment Adviser” or “BlackRock”) and entities controlling, controlled by, or under common control with BlackRock (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment adviser) that provide ongoing services to the Fund (“Affiliated Service Providers”):

 

      Current Fiscal Year End 12/31/183    Previous Fiscal Year End 08/31/18

(b) Audit-Related Fees1

   $0    $0

(c) Tax Fees2

   $0    $0

(d) All Other Fees4

   $2,274,000    $2,274,000

1 The nature of the services includes assurance and related services reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of financial statements not included in Audit Fees, including accounting consultations, agreed-upon procedure reports, attestation reports, comfort letters, out-of-pocket expenses and internal control reviews not required by regulators.

2 The nature of the services includes tax compliance and/or tax preparation, including services relating to the filing or amendment of federal, state or local income tax returns, regulated investment company qualification reviews, taxable income and tax distribution calculations.

3 The registrant changed its fiscal year end from August to December in 2018 whereby this fiscal year consists of the four months ended December 31, 2018.

4 Non-audit fees of $2,274,000 and $2,274,000 for the current fiscal year and previous fiscal year, respectively, were paid to the Fund’s principal accountant in their entirety by BlackRock, in connection with services provided to the Affiliated Service Providers of the Fund and of certain other funds sponsored and advised by BlackRock or its affiliates for a service organization review and an accounting research tool subscription. These amounts represent aggregate fees paid by BlackRock and were not allocated on a per fund basis.

(e)(1) Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures:

The Committee has adopted policies and procedures with regard to the pre-approval of services. Audit, audit-related and tax compliance services provided to the registrant on an annual basis require specific pre-approval by the Committee. The Committee also must approve other non-audit services provided to the registrant and those non-audit services provided to the Investment Adviser and Affiliated Service Providers that relate directly to the operations and the financial reporting of the registrant. Certain of these non-audit services that the Committee believes are (a) consistent with the SEC’s auditor independence rules and (b) routine and recurring services that will not impair the independence of the independent accountants may be approved by the Committee without consideration on a specific case-by-case basis (“general pre-approval”). The term of any general pre-approval is 12 months from the date of the pre-approval, unless the Committee provides for a different period. Tax or other non-audit services provided to the registrant which have a direct impact on the operations or financial reporting of the registrant will only be deemed pre-approved provided that any individual project does not exceed $10,000 attributable to the registrant or $50,000 per project. For this purpose, multiple projects will be aggregated to determine if they exceed the previously mentioned cost levels.

 

3


Any proposed services exceeding the pre-approved cost levels will require specific pre-approval by the Committee, as will any other services not subject to general pre-approval (e.g., unanticipated but permissible services). The Committee is informed of each service approved subject to general pre-approval at the next regularly scheduled in-person board meeting. At this meeting, an analysis of such services is presented to the Committee for ratification. The Committee may delegate to the Committee Chairman the authority to approve the provision of and fees for any specific engagement of permitted non-audit services, including services exceeding pre-approved cost levels.

(e)(2) None of the services described in each of Items 4(b) through (d) were approved by the Committee pursuant to the de minimis exception in paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X.

(f) Not Applicable

(g) The aggregate non-audit fees, defined as the sum of the fees shown under “Audit-Related Fees,” “Tax Fees” and “All Other Fees,” paid to the accountant for services rendered by the accountant to the registrant, the Investment Adviser and the Affiliated Service Providers were:

 

Entity Name   

Current Fiscal Year

End 12/31/181

  

Previous Fiscal Year

End 08/31/18

         

BlackRock Income Trust, Inc.

   $6,700    $6,732
  1 

The registrant changed its fiscal year end from August to December in 2018 whereby this fiscal

        year

consists of the four months ended December 31, 2018.

Additionally, the amounts billed by D&T in connection with services provided to the Affiliated Service Providers of the Fund and of other funds sponsored or advised by BlackRock or its affiliates during the current and previous fiscal years for a service organization review and an accounting research tool subscription were:

 

Current Fiscal

Year End1

  

Previous Fiscal

Year End

$2,274,000

   $2,274,000
  1

The registrant changed its fiscal year end from August to December in 2018 whereby this fiscal year consists of the four months ended December 31, 2018.

These amounts represent aggregate fees paid by BlackRock and were not allocated on a per fund basis.

(h) The Committee has considered and determined that the provision of non-audit services that were rendered to the Investment Adviser, and the Affiliated Service Providers that were not pre-approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X is compatible with maintaining the principal accountant’s independence.

 

Item 5 –

Audit Committee of Listed Registrants

 

  (a)

The following individuals are members of the registrant’s separately-designated standing audit committee established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(58)(A)):

 

4


Michael Castellano

Frank J. Fabozzi

Henry Gabbay

Catherine A. Lynch

Karen P. Robards

 

  (b)

Not Applicable

 

Item 6 –

Investments

(a) The registrant’s Schedule of Investments is included as part of the Report to Stockholders filed under Item 1 of this Form.

(b) Not Applicable due to no such divestments during the semi-annual period covered since the previous Form N-CSR filing.

 

Item 7 –

Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies – The board of directors has delegated the voting of proxies for the Fund’s portfolio securities to the Investment Adviser pursuant to the Investment Adviser’s proxy voting guidelines. Under these guidelines, the Investment Adviser will vote proxies related to Fund securities in the best interests of the Fund and its stockholders. From time to time, a vote may present a conflict between the interests of the Fund’s stockholders, on the one hand, and those of the Investment Adviser, or any affiliated person of the Fund or the Investment Adviser, on the other. In such event, provided that the Investment Adviser’s Equity Investment Policy Oversight Committee, or a sub-committee thereof (the “Oversight Committee”) is aware of the real or potential conflict or material non-routine matter and if the Oversight Committee does not reasonably believe it is able to follow its general voting guidelines (or if the particular proxy matter is not addressed in the guidelines) and vote impartially, the Oversight Committee may retain an independent fiduciary to advise the Oversight Committee on how to vote or to cast votes on behalf of the Investment Adviser’s clients. If the Investment Adviser determines not to retain an independent fiduciary, or does not desire to follow the advice of such independent fiduciary, the Oversight Committee shall determine how to vote the proxy after consulting with the Investment Adviser’s Portfolio Management Group and/or the Investment Adviser’s Legal and Compliance Department and concluding that the vote cast is in its client’s best interest notwithstanding the conflict. A copy of the Fund’s Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures are attached as Exhibit 99.PROXYPOL. Information on how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge, (i) at www.blackrock.com and (ii) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

 

Item 8 –

Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies

(a)(1)     As of the date of filing this Report:

The registrant is managed by a team of investment professionals comprised of Matthew Kraeger, Managing Director at BlackRock and Ron Sion, Managing Director at BlackRock. Messrs. Kraeger and Sion are the Fund’s co-portfolio managers and are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio, which includes setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy, overseeing the

 

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management of the Fund and/or selection of its investments. Messrs. Kraeger and Sion have been members of the Fund’s portfolio management team since 2016.

 

           Portfolio Manager      Biography
  Matthew Kraeger      Managing Director of BlackRock since 2015; Director of BlackRock since 2015; Director of BlackRock since 2009.
  Ron Sion      Managing Director of BlackRock since 2011; Director of BlackRock since 2007.

(a)(2) As of December 31, 2018:

 

     

(ii) Number of Other Accounts Managed

and Assets by Account Type

  

(iii) Number of Other Accounts and

Assets for Which Advisory Fee is

Performance-Based

(i) Name of

Portfolio Manager

  

Other

Registered

Investment

Companies

       

Other Pooled

Investment

Vehicles

       

Other

Accounts

       

Other

Registered

Investment

Companies

       

Other Pooled

Investment

Vehicles

        

Other    

Accounts    

Matthew Kraeger

   6        12        19        0        0         2    
     $2.17 Billion        $2.58 Billion        $12.61 Billion        $0        $0         $760.5 Million    

Ron Sion

   0        0        0        0        0         0    
     $0        $0        $0        $0        $0         $0    

(iv) Portfolio Manager Potential Material Conflicts of Interest

BlackRock has built a professional working environment, firm-wide compliance culture and compliance procedures and systems designed to protect against potential incentives that may favor one account over another. BlackRock has adopted policies and procedures that address the allocation of investment opportunities, execution of portfolio transactions, personal trading by employees and other potential conflicts of interest that are designed to ensure that all client accounts are treated equitably over time. Nevertheless, BlackRock furnishes investment management and advisory services to numerous clients in addition to the Fund, and BlackRock may, consistent with applicable law, make investment recommendations to other clients or accounts (including accounts which are hedge funds or have performance or higher fees paid to BlackRock, or in which portfolio managers have a personal interest in the receipt of such fees), which may be the same as or different from those made to the Fund. In addition, BlackRock, Inc., its affiliates and significant shareholders and any officer, director, shareholder or employee may or may not have an interest in the securities whose purchase and sale BlackRock recommends to the Fund. BlackRock, Inc., or any of its affiliates or significant shareholders, or any officer, director, shareholder, employee or any member of their families may take different actions than those recommended to the Fund by BlackRock with respect to the same securities. Moreover, BlackRock may refrain from rendering any advice or services concerning securities of companies of which any of BlackRock, Inc.’s (or its affiliates’ or significant shareholders’) officers, directors or employees are directors or officers, or companies as to which BlackRock, Inc. or any of its affiliates or significant shareholders or the officers, directors and employees of any of them has any substantial economic interest or possesses material non-public information.

 

6


Certain portfolio managers also may manage accounts whose investment strategies may at times be opposed to the strategy utilized for a fund. It should also be noted that Messrs. Kraeger and Sion may be managing hedge fund and/or long only accounts, or may be part of a team managing hedge fund and/or long only accounts, subject to incentive fees.    Messrs. Kraeger and Sion may therefore be entitled to receive a portion of any incentive fees earned on such accounts.

As a fiduciary, BlackRock owes a duty of loyalty to its clients and must treat each client fairly. When BlackRock purchases or sells securities for more than one account, the trades must be allocated in a manner consistent with its fiduciary duties. BlackRock attempts to allocate investments in a fair and equitable manner among client accounts, with no account receiving preferential treatment. To this end, BlackRock, Inc. has adopted policies that are intended to ensure reasonable efficiency in client transactions and provide BlackRock with sufficient flexibility to allocate investments in a manner that is consistent with the particular investment discipline and client base, as appropriate.

(a)(3)   As of December 31, 2018:

Portfolio Manager Compensation Overview

The discussion below describes the portfolio managers’ compensation as of December 31, 2018.

BlackRock’s financial arrangements with its portfolio managers, its competitive compensation and its career path emphasis at all levels reflect the value senior management places on key resources. Compensation may include a variety of components and may vary from year to year based on a number of factors. The principal components of compensation include a base salary, a performance-based discretionary bonus, participation in various benefits programs and one or more of the incentive compensation programs established by BlackRock.

Base Compensation. Generally, portfolio managers receive base compensation based on their position with the firm.

Discretionary Incentive Compensation. Discretionary incentive compensation is a function of several components: the performance of BlackRock, Inc., the performance of the portfolio manager’s group within BlackRock, the investment performance, including risk-adjusted returns, of the firm’s assets under management or supervision by that portfolio manager relative to predetermined benchmarks, and the individual’s performance and contribution to the overall performance of these portfolios and BlackRock.    In most cases, these benchmarks are the same as the benchmark or benchmarks against which the performance of the funds or other accounts managed by the portfolio managers are measured. Among other things, BlackRock’s Chief Investment Officers make a subjective determination with respect to each portfolio manager’s compensation based on the performance of the funds and other accounts managed by each portfolio manager relative to the various benchmarks. Performance of fixed income funds is measured on a pre-tax and/or after-tax basis over various time periods including 1-, 3- and 5- year periods, as applicable. With respect to these portfolio managers, such benchmarks for the Fund and other accounts are:

 

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Portfolio Manager    Benchmark
Matthew Kraeger   

A combination of market-based indices (e.g. Citigroup Mortgage Index, Bloomberg Barclays GNMA MBS Index), certain customized indices and certain fund industry peer groups.

 

Ron Sion   

Citigroup Mortgage Index

 

Distribution of Discretionary Incentive Compensation. Discretionary incentive compensation is distributed to portfolio managers in a combination of cash, deferred BlackRock, Inc. stock awards, and/or deferred cash awards that notionally track the return of certain BlackRock investment products.

Portfolio managers receive their annual discretionary incentive compensation in the form of cash. Portfolio managers whose total compensation is above a specified threshold also receive deferred BlackRock, Inc. stock awards annually as part of their discretionary incentive compensation. Paying a portion of discretionary incentive compensation in the form of deferred BlackRock, Inc. stock puts compensation earned by a portfolio manager for a given year “at risk” based on BlackRock’s ability to sustain and improve its performance over future periods. In some cases, additional deferred BlackRock, Inc. stock may be granted to certain key employees as part of a long-term incentive award to aid in retention, align interests with long-term shareholders and motivate performance. Deferred BlackRock, Inc. stock awards are generally granted in the form of BlackRock, Inc. restricted stock units that vest pursuant to the terms of the applicable plan and, once vested, settle in BlackRock, Inc. common stock. The portfolio managers of this Fund have deferred BlackRock, Inc. stock awards.

For certain portfolio managers, a portion of the discretionary incentive compensation is also distributed in the form of deferred cash awards that notionally track the returns of select BlackRock investment products they manage, which provides direct alignment of portfolio manager discretionary incentive compensation with investment product results. Deferred cash awards vest ratably over a number of years and, once vested, settle in the form of cash. Only portfolio managers who manage specified products and whose total compensation is above a specified threshold are eligible to participate in the deferred cash award program.

Other Compensation Benefits. In addition to base salary and discretionary incentive compensation, portfolio managers may be eligible to receive or participate in one or more of the following:

Incentive Savings Plans — BlackRock, Inc. has created a variety of incentive savings plans in which BlackRock, Inc. employees are eligible to participate, including a 401(k) plan, the BlackRock Retirement Savings Plan (RSP), and the BlackRock Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). The employer contribution components of the RSP include a company match equal to 50% of the first 8% of eligible pay contributed to the plan capped at $5,000 per year, and a company retirement contribution equal to 3-5% of eligible compensation up to the Internal Revenue Service limit ($275,000 for 2018). The RSP offers a range of investment options, including registered investment companies and collective investment funds managed by the firm. BlackRock, Inc. contributions follow the investment direction set by participants for their own contributions or, absent participant investment direction, are invested into a target date fund that corresponds to, or is

 

8


closest to, the year in which the participant attains age 65. The ESPP allows for investment in BlackRock, Inc. common stock at a 5% discount on the fair market value of the stock on the purchase date. Annual participation in the ESPP is limited to the purchase of 1,000 shares of common stock or a dollar value of $25,000 based on its fair market value on the purchase date. All of the eligible portfolio managers are eligible to participate in these plans.

(a)(4) Beneficial Ownership of Securities – As of December 31, 2018.

 

Portfolio Manager

  

Dollar Range of Equity Securities

of the Fund Beneficially Owned

Matthew Kraeger

  

$10,001 - $50,000

Ron Sion

  

$100,001 - $500,000

(b) Not Applicable

 

Item 9 –

Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers

 

Period   (a) Total   (b) Average   (c) Total Number of   (d) Maximum Number of    
    

Number of Shares

Purchased

  Price Paid per
Share
 

Shares Purchased as Part

of Publicly Announced Plans

or Programs

 

Shares that May Yet Be

Purchased Under the Plans    

or Programs1

September1-30, 2018

  N/A   N/A   N/A   3,051,703

October 1-31, 2018

  N/A   N/A   N/A   3,051,703

November 1-30, 2018

  N/A   N/A   N/A   3,051,703

December 1-31, 2018

  N/A   N/A   N/A   3,189,856

Total:

  N/A   N/A   N/A   3,189,856

1On September 6, 2017, the Fund announced a continuation of the open market share repurchase program, pursuant to which the Fund may repurchase through November 30, 2018 up to 5% of its outstanding shares based on common shares outstanding on November 30, 2017, in open market transactions. On September 7, 2018, the Fund announced a further continuation of its open market share repurchase program. Commencing on December 1, 2018, the Fund may repurchase through November 30, 2019, up to 5% of its common shares outstanding as of the close of business on November 30, 2018, subject to certain conditions.

 

 

Item 10 – 

Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders – There have been no material changes to these procedures.

 

Item 11 – 

Controls and Procedures

(a) – The registrant’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”)) are effective as of a date within 90 days of the filing of this report based on the evaluation of these controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act and Rule 13a-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(b) – There were no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act) that occurred during the second fiscal quarter of the period

 

9


covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Item 12 – 

Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies – Not Applicable

 

Item 13 –

Exhibits attached hereto

(a)(1) – Code of Ethics – See Item 2

(a)(2) – Certifications – Attached hereto

(a)(3) – Not Applicable

(a)(4) – Not Applicable

(b) – Certifications – Attached hereto

 

10


Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

  BlackRock Income Trust, Inc.
    By:       /s/ John M. Perlowski                   
    John M. Perlowski
    Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) of
    BlackRock Income Trust, Inc.
  Date: March 8, 2019

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

    By:       /s/ John M. Perlowski                   
    John M. Perlowski
    Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) of
    BlackRock Income Trust, Inc.
  Date: March 8, 2019

 

    By:       /s/ Neal J. Andrews                     
    Neal J. Andrews
    Chief Financial Officer (principal financial officer) of
    BlackRock Income Trust, Inc.
  Date: March 8, 2019

 

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