3Q26 New loan assets as proportion of total lending edge up to 44%, highest level in 3 years
New loan assets as a proportion of total US loan volume make up 44% of the 3Q26 pipeline to date, up from 29% last quarter and the highest level since 3Q23. Most of the boost has come via investment grade issuers who have tapped lenders for M&A financing as well as opportunistic upsizings of existing corporate back stops. Roughly 47% of total investment grade loan volume raised so far this quarter represents new loan assets, up from 36% and the highest pro rata share since 4Q25. In the leveraged space, the trend is a bit more mixed. Although lender demand for new loan assets remains strong, buyout and other acquisition activity has been limited given episodic market volatility. Against this backdrop, 3Q26 new leveraged loan assets only represent 31% of the quarterly pipeline to date, down from 39% in 2Q26.
Latest news
North American GPs dominant as fundraising accelerates
Our PEI Private Credit 200 ranking also shows capital raising increasing overall – and accelerating especially fast for the largest…
PE exit activity
Exit value fell to $102.6 billion in the second quarter—down 46.3% from the prior quarter and 7.4% YoY—while exit count dropped to 353, a 14.1% quarterly decline and a 5.4% rise against Q2 2025.
US BSL and MM CLO performance held stable in July 2026
In July 2026, portfolio credit quality in reinvesting Fitch-rated U.S. BSL CLOs remained broadly stable from June. Net portfolio losses held at 0.5%. The Fitch weighted average rating factor also held at 23.1. The Fitch weighted average recovery rate declined slightly by 0.1%, while the weighted average spread fell by 0.01%.