Covenant Trends – 5/4/2026
Covenant Trends released its latest data set on May 4 2026, highlighting the percentage of syndicated loans that contain most‑favored‑nation (MFN) carve‑outs. The report includes a chart visualizing the trend and offers a downloadable Excel file for deeper analysis. The data, compiled by Steven Miller of Covenant Review, tracks how frequently lenders embed MFN provisions in loan agreements. This release follows a series of quarterly updates that monitor covenant tightening across the credit market.
Octus: Private Credit & Deal Origination Insights – 5/4/2026
Octus’s cross‑BDC analysis reveals that U.S. private‑credit BDCs have 73 basis points of additional nonaccrual exposure at cost, pushing the adjusted nonaccrual rate to 2.18% versus the reported 1.45%. The total nonaccrual balance rose from roughly $7.2 billion to $10.5 billion, raising...
Middle Market & Private Credit – 5/4/2026
U.S. banks broadened private‑credit disclosures in the first quarter of 2026, adding detail on business development companies, collateralized loan obligations and other direct‑lending vehicles. Fitch Ratings highlighted that the new information improves transparency but still diverges from regulatory call‑report data....
Leveraged Loan Insight & Analysis – 5/4/2026
US collateralized loan obligation (CLO) issuance fell sharply to $6.2 bn in April, the lowest level since December 2023. The market contracted from $18.1 bn raised across 38 deals in March to just 14 deals in April. The drop reflects tighter credit conditions,...
Bloomberg: Leveraged Lending Insights – 4/27/2026
U.S. leveraged loan issuance slipped to $25.06 b in April, a 15% decline from March’s $29.6 b. The slowdown marks the lowest monthly issuance since April 2025, when $7.9 b were priced after the “Liberation Day” tariffs. The trend reflects a broader pullback in...
Octus: Private Credit & Deal Origination Insights – 4/27/2026
Octus released its latest private‑credit market briefing, highlighting a 12% year‑over‑year increase in deal origination volume and a shift toward mid‑market middle‑market borrowers. The report shows syndicated loans now represent 38% of total private‑credit commitments, up from 31% a year...
Middle Market & Private Credit – 4/27/2026
U.S. business development companies are confronting heightened earnings pressure in 2026 as capital inflows slow and redemption activity rises, straining liquidity. At the same time, tighter underwriting standards and a higher interest‑rate environment are eroding asset quality. The combined forces...
Debtwire Middle-Market – 4/27/2026
VanEck’s BDC Income ETF (BIZD) posted a dividend yield of 13.6% on 24 April, marking a 178‑basis‑point rise year‑to‑date and a 198‑basis‑point increase versus the prior year. The surge reflects higher income distributions from the fund’s portfolio of business development companies,...
Covenant Trends – 4/27/2026
Covenant Trends released its weekly data showing that 27% of first‑lien loans now have affected lender voting protection, the highest proportion recorded since the second quarter of 2023. The metric, which tracks how often lenders’ rights to vote on borrower‑initiated...
The Pulse of Private Equity – 4/27/2026
US private‑equity buyout valuations have remained steady through early 2026, with trailing‑twelve‑month EV/EBITDA multiples hovering near the 2024 recovery peak. A slight dip observed in 2025 has largely corrected, leaving the current multiple range between the five‑year average of 10.8‑times...
Leveraged Loan Insight & Analysis – 4/27/2026
US syndicated asset‑based loan (ABL) issuance surged to $29.9 bn in the first quarter of 2026, a 31% year‑over‑year increase. The jump marks the strongest Q1 on record when the 2023 LIBOR‑to‑SOFR transition spike is excluded. Refinancings accounted for the bulk...
Chart of the Week: At Any Rate
The Lead Left’s “Chart of the Week” spotlights how default metrics vary dramatically depending on their definition and measurement methodology. Bank of America Global Research’s chart illustrates divergent default rates across asset classes, credit tiers, and time horizons. The piece...
The OG of Private Credit: By Default
The piece examines risk in private credit, emphasizing core middle‑market (CMM) loans as a safer alternative to large‑cap cov‑lite deals. CMM loans embed financial covenants that give lenders early warning and intervention rights before assets become impaired. Lower leverage, with...
Middle Market Deal Terms at a Glance – April 2026
The Lead Left released SPP Capital Partners’ April 2026 middle‑market deal terms snapshot, comparing leverage ratios and pricing spreads for micro‑cap, small‑cap and mid‑cap companies against April 2025. The table highlights modest shifts—leverage levels remain broadly stable while pricing spreads...
Octus: Private Credit & Deal Origination Insights – 4/20/2026
Octus released a Q4 2025 analysis of business development companies (BDCs) showing that adjusted nonaccrual levels are substantially higher than the figures reported by individual firms. By aggregating cost and fair‑value data for every tranche held across the sector, the study...
Leveraged Loan Insight & Analysis – 4/20/2026
Direct lenders in the United States raised less than $77 bn in the first quarter of 2026 to fund sponsor‑backed transactions. That represents a 30% drop from the fourth quarter of 2025, marking the steepest quarterly decline since 2022. The contraction...
KBRA Direct Lending Deals: News & Analysis – 4/20/2026
KBRA released its latest Direct Lending Deals (DLD) default index covering the trailing twelve months through April 21, 2026. The index shows a modest decline in default rates to 1.2% and loss severity staying below 30%, while deal issuance rose 8% year‑over‑year....
Debtwire Middle-Market – 4/20/2026
Direct lending volumes surged 24% quarter‑on‑quarter to $119.5 bn in the fourth quarter of 2025, the strongest quarterly total in three years. The jump from $96.2 bn in Q3 2025 eclipses the previous peak of $98.7 bn recorded in Q2 2024. Debtwire’s data shows the...
The Pulse of Private Equity – 4/20/2026
Private‑equity take‑private transactions surged in the first quarter of 2026, with total deal value climbing to $64.3 billion. That represents a 13.0 % increase quarter‑over‑quarter and a 53.3 % jump year‑over‑year. Despite the value surge, the number of deals slipped to 13 from...
Bloomberg: Leveraged Lending Insights – 4/20/2026
Retail investors are flowing back into leveraged loan funds after two months of net redemptions. The Invesco Senior Loan ETF (BKLN) posted a $265 million net inflow through April 21, reversing the $125 million outflow recorded in March. This follows a sharp February...
Covenant Trends – 4/13/2026
Covenant Trends released its April 2026 report highlighting the proportion of loans that permit uncapped synergies and cost‑savings EBITDA adjustments. The data shows roughly 45% of sponsored‑bank loans allow such adjustments, compared with about 30% of non‑sponsored loans over the...
PDI Picks – 4/20/2026
Secondaries activity accelerated in 2025, with transaction volume and fundraising both posting double‑digit gains. A recent poll shows 33% of investors expect deployment to slow markedly in 2026, while 54% foresee faster or slightly faster activity. The mixed outlook highlights...
Octus: Private Credit & Deal Origination Insights – 4/13/2026
Octus released its latest private‑credit briefing, examining 27 stressed securities tied to 23 borrowers. The analysis shows that fair‑value pricing for these loans can differ by as much as 40 basis points between the lowest and highest marks. A detailed...
Bloomberg: Leveraged Lending Insights – 4/13/2026
The U.S. leveraged loan market remains subdued after a sharp issuance slowdown in February, with volatility curbing new deals. Through April 15, $9.4 billion has entered syndication, outpacing the prior three weeks combined but still far below the $30 billion weekly volumes seen...
PDI Picks – 4/13/2026
The first quarter of 2026 recorded the most prolific private‑credit fundraising in the past five years, according to Private Debt Investor data. Pensions, insurers and other institutional investors are actually stepping up their commitments to the asset class. This institutional...
Debtwire Middle-Market – 4/13/2026
The VanEck BDC Income ETF (BIZD) posted a 13.8% dividend yield on April 13, up 199 basis points year‑to‑date, as BDC equity prices fell relative to trailing distributions. The rise reflects widening credit concerns in the middle‑market, especially among AI‑exposed borrowers,...
Middle Market & Private Credit – 4/13/2026
Fitch Ratings’ point‑in‑time credit opinion model shows U.S. software issuers are markedly more exposed to credit deterioration when EBITDA is stressed severely. In the same stress test, the broader U.S. middle‑market collateralized loan obligation (CLO) portfolio exhibits little rating migration,...
The Pulse of Private Equity – 4/13/2026
The latest Pulse of Private Equity chart shows software’s share of private‑equity deal value climbing to roughly 35% of total allocations by Q1 2026, while the HALO category has slipped below the 10% mark. Notable mega‑deals—Twitter/X at $44 B in Q2 2022, Electronic...
Leveraged Loan Insight & Analysis – 4/13/2026
Unitranche loan issuance in the United States slumped sharply in the first quarter of 2026, affecting both large‑corporate and middle‑market segments. The total volume, which typically oscillates between $40 billion and $80 billion, contracted markedly amid heightened concerns about AI‑driven disintermediation and...
Covenant Trends – 4/13/2026
Covenant Trends released its weekly snapshot of first‑lien institutional loan market conditions on April 13, 2026. The data show average new‑issue clearing spreads for Single‑B rated loans narrowing to roughly 165 basis points, a 5‑bp improvement from the prior week....
The OG of Private Credit: You Are What You Eat
The article argues that in private credit, the quality of deal sourcing determines portfolio outcomes. It traces the asset class back to the core middle market, where lenders focused on SME loans backed by private‑equity sponsors with conservative terms. As...
Chart of the Week: Ex Uno, Plures
The Lead Left’s chart illustrates how private credit in the United States has transformed from a monolithic middle‑market sponsor‑lending niche into a sprawling ecosystem of financing solutions. Over the past decade, assets under management have ballooned from roughly $200 billion to...
Bloomberg: Leveraged Lending Insights – 4/6/2026
Lenders are deepening original issue discounts (OIDs) to clear leveraged‑loan deals as primary‑market activity stalls. In March 2026 the weighted‑average OID on U.S. institutional loans surged to 140 basis points, up from 62 bps in February, marking the deepest discount...
PDI Picks – 4/6/2026
Secondaries activity is booming across private debt, equity, and real assets, according to the 2026 Global Market Survey from Secondaries Investor, a Private Debt Investor affiliate. The study highlights a rapid rise in GP‑led secondary transactions, driven by GPs seeking...
Leveraged Loan Insight & Analysis – 4/6/2026
Leveraged‑buyout (LBO) leverage multiples in the United States remained largely unchanged in the first quarter of 2026, easing marginally to an average of 5.5 times EBITDA compared with 5.6 times in the fourth quarter of 2025. The modest decline reflects...
The Pulse of Private Equity – 4/6/2026
U.S. private equity firms now hold a record‑high portfolio of more than 13,143 companies as of the fourth quarter of 2025. The average age of these holdings has fallen to roughly 8.1 years, signaling a quicker turnover than earlier in the...
KBRA Direct Lending Deals: News & Analysis – 4/6/2026
Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) released its latest Direct Lending Default (DLD) indices covering the trailing twelve months through April 7, 2026. The data show the aggregate default rate climbing to roughly 2.1%, a modest increase from the prior quarter. The rise...
Octus: Private Credit & Deal Origination Insights – 4/6/2026
Octus’s latest private‑credit briefing highlights a surge in payment‑in‑kind (PIK) loans among software‑industry borrowers, especially those set to mature through 2028. The data show that a sizable share of these loans carry PIK interest, even as they approach near‑term repayment...
Debtwire Middle-Market – 4/6/2026
In February, high‑yield bond issuance topped institutional leveraged‑loan issuance for the first time in recent months. HY bonds reached $29.7 bn, slightly above the $28.6 bn of leveraged loans, according to Debtwire. The shift reflects investors' appetite for higher‑yield debt amid tightening...
The OG of Private Credit: (Smaller) Size Matters
The article examines how the post‑GFC zero‑interest environment let large private‑equity firms and direct lenders over‑leverage mega‑software acquisitions with borrower‑friendly terms. As the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) climbed to roughly 5% in 2022, financing costs surged, turning those generous...
Chart of the Week: Different Strokes
The latest chart from The Lead Left shows that the overlap between core (large‑cap) and lower‑middle‑market (LMM) investment portfolios has remained remarkably steady over the past ten years. The data, sourced from company filings and Raymond James research, indicates that...
Bloomberg: Leveraged Lending Insights – 3/30/2026
The Bloomberg US Leveraged Loan Index (LOAN) posted a 0.48% gain in March, snapping a slide that began in January. The modest rebound lifted the year‑to‑date performance to a still‑negative ‑0.56%. The March uptick reflects improving credit market sentiment after early‑year...
Middle Market & Private Credit – 3/30/2026
Fitch Ratings notes a modest improvement in private‑credit transparency across North America, driven by tighter regulatory disclosure mandates, the proliferation of SEC‑registered credit vehicles, and voluntary issuer reporting. Despite these gains, the sector remains largely opaque, especially concerning how private‑credit...
Leveraged Loan Insight & Analysis – 3/30/2026
The US broadly syndicated loan market issued about $779 billion in the first quarter of 2026, marking a 6% decline year‑over‑year and a 10% drop from the previous quarter. New‑issue loans accounted for roughly 32% of total activity, amounting to $251 billion,...
Debtwire Middle-Market – 3/30/2026
The VanEck BDC Income ETF (BIZD) posted a dividend yield of 13.4% on March 30, up 157 basis points from the end of 2025. This rise reflects a broad repricing of business development companies, many now trading below net asset value as...
KBRA Direct Lending Deals: News & Analysis – 3/30/2026
KBRA published its latest Direct Lending Default Indices covering the trailing twelve months through March 31, 2026, accompanied by a performance chart. The indices track default and recovery rates across private credit deals, showing a modest uptick in defaults compared with the...
Covenant Trends – 3/30/2026
Covenant Trends released its March 30, 2026 update, spotlighting the latest share of loans that contain asset‑sale sweep step‑down provisions. The accompanying chart shows a modest but steady rise in the percentage of such loans over the past two years, signaling lenders...
The Pulse of Private Equity – 3/30/2026
Private equity exit activity in the United States has shifted toward fewer, larger deals. According to PitchBook data through December 2025, the number of exits exceeding $1 billion is 9.7 % below the pre‑pandemic average, even as total exit value stays near...
The OG of Private Credit: How We Got Here
Private credit, defined as tailored non‑bank loans, has grown from 1980s bank‑offloaded leveraged loans into a multi‑trillion‑dollar market. Specialized teams within banks and finance firms pioneered risk‑focused middle‑market lending, creating the foundation for today’s direct‑lending platforms. Recent coverage often paints...
Chart of the Week: Leverage Takeover
The latest LSEG LPC chart shows a decisive shift in middle‑market leveraged‑buyout financing. In 2014 banks supplied roughly 70 % of the capital, but by 2025 their share fell below 30 %, while direct lenders now fund over 60 % of deals. This...