Market Leaders in Private Credit

KBRA examines rated feeder fund notes investing in evergreen funds, which are perpetual and allow periodic redemptions. The report explores key analytical considerations, including liquidity needs and maturity mismatches with rated notes.

KBRA releases a recap of the annual CLO Conference hosted by the Loan Syndications & Trading Association (LSTA) and DealCatalyst, which took place at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York on April 28-29. With up to 1,700 attendees, the conference comes on the heels of record U.S. CLO issuance of around $200 billion in 2024.

In this quarterly update, we review the more than 2,200 KBRA assessments completed for 1,972 unique middle market (MM)-sponsored borrowers over the last 12 months (LTM) ending March 31, 2025. These companies collectively account for $983 billion in debt, offering a clear view of the overall direct lending market.

KBRA releases research examining trends across the structured credit landscape. The structured credit and collateralized loan obligation (CLO) marketplace entered the new year on the heels of record-setting issuance in 2024.

KBRA releases a series of three research reports that examine how tariffs, market volatility, economic uncertainty, fluctuating spreads, and other macroeconomic headwinds may impact various segments of private credit’s rated transactions, including corporate borrowers, funds, business development companies (BDC), asset managers, and middle market (MM) collateralized loan obligations (CLO).

This quarter, KBRA observed that business development companies (BDC) maintained a strategic focus on liability management amid a challenging market landscape marked by tighter spreads, heightened competition, and an oversupply of capital relative to deal flow.