A recent Financial Time piece on bonds reminded us of their long, proud history as well as their critical importance to the proper functioning of today’s global markets. The article points out that while banks have faded in importance as holders of capital, bonds – led by US Treasury’s – are major components of the […]
Our last Market Now series came in March 2022 after Covid had peaked and begun to fade, when Russia invaded Ukraine. This week we think another pause to review conditions is appropriate given a number of dynamics at play. First, the Fed has paused in its rate hikes as their gravity seems to have pulled […]
In early 2020, just before Covid came crashing down on our heads, we were in the middle of a Lead Left series called “Ten Top Myths About Private Credit”. Myth #5, published on February 20, was “No one uses mezzanine debt anymore.” We felt compelled, after a decade of increasingly aggressive senior and unitranche financings, […]
This space has covered at length the investor-friendly changes in senior debt terms since the Fed began its rate hiking regime in March 2022. We recently spent time speaking with junior capital providers about the state of mezz terms today… ▶︎ Read July 24 2023 newsletter: here ▶︎ Chart of the Week: here (by Refinitiv) […]
We continue our discussion this week on why private mezzanine is going from strength to strength amid current economic and market conditions. “We did zero mezzanine deals last year,” one junior capital provider told us. “This year we’ve already done half-a-dozen… ▶︎ Read July 17 2023 newsletter: here ▶︎ Chart of the Week: here (by […]
Back in December 2015 the senior debt market was in full swing recovery from the Great Recession. Interest rates were at rock-bottom lows, and senior spreads were near their post-GFC tights. Unitranche financings were growing in popularity and size… ▶︎ Read July 10 2023 newsletter: here ▶︎ Chart of the Week: here (by PitchBook) (Any […]
Both veterans and newcomers to the asset class are familiar with the basics of private debt benefits. Thanks to its premium yield over liquid credit and consistent returns across economic, rate, and market cycles, investors have moved briskly into non-traded credit since the GFC… ▶︎ Read July 3 2023 newsletter: here ▶︎ Chart of the […]
Everywhere you look these days industry rags are filled with talk about looming loan defaults. For anyone who’s been a practitioner or observer of the debt capital markets for more than a couple years, the above headlines are familiar ones. They could have been yesterday’s news… ▶︎ Read June 26 2023 newsletter: here ▶︎ Chart […]
A frequent question from investors and others is, “When is a good time to invest in private credit?” What they mean is, “Is now a good time to invest in private credit?” Readers of this column know one of our consistent themes is private credit is not a timing thing… ▶︎ Read June 19 2023 […]
When we began our career in the middle market four decades ago, we could not have anticipated its transformation to private debt, the hottest asset class in capital markets. Back then being a lowly vice-president dedicated to smaller… ▶︎ Read June 12 2023 newsletter: here ▶︎ Chart of the Week: here (by Bloomberg L.P., 31 […]