Fewer PMR ‘CCC’s Reach the ‘B’ Category Click here to learn more. Once in the ‘CCC’ category, fewer issuers in the PMR portfolio ascend to the ‘B’ category than public peers. The AAT% of ‘CCC’ category issuers that reach the ‘B’ category is just 11% in the PMR portfolio compared to 18% for Fitch’s public…

PMRs Stay Longer in ‘CCC’ Category Click here to learn more. PMR issuers within the ‘CCC’ category have a lower average annual upgrade rate, lower average annual default rate and a higher average annual stability rate than publicly rated peers. Different stakeholder dynamics within the direct lending segment play a role in the lower number…

PMR Portfolio Concentrated in Lower Rating Categories Click here to learn more. The PMR portfolio consists exclusively of ‘B’ category and below issuers as the companies in the portfolio generally tend to be the product of leveraging transactions such as sponsor-driven LBOs or dividend recaps…. Login to Read More...

Fitch U.S. MM CLO Spotlight – May 2024 Click here to learn more. ‘CCC’ Exposure Marginally Up Exposure to assets with Fitch IDRs or credit opinions of ‘CCC+’ or below, excluding nonrated assets, increased by 20 bps to 18.6%, compared to last month and 3.5% higher than a year ago…. Login to Read More...

Fitch U.S. MM CLO Spotlight – May 2024 Click here to learn more. Defaults and Deferring Exposure Flat Twenty-five CLOs had exposure to at least one defaulted or deferring issuer at the end of May 2024. Average defaulted and deferring exposure across middle market (MM) CLOs remained at 0.7%…. Login to Read More...

Default Rate Rises in Fitch’s U.S. Privately Monitored Corporate Ratings Portfolio Click here to learn more. The default rate for Fitch’s corporate portfolio of U.S. Privately Monitored Ratings (PMR) continues to rise despite better-than-expected resilience and growth of the U.S. economy as issuers continue to struggle with elevated interest rates and impending loan maturities…. Login

U.S. BDC Earnings, Credit Headwinds to Persist in 2024 Fitch-rated U.S. business development companies (BDCs) face persistent headwinds in 2024, with rising paid-in-kind (PIK) income and continued markdowns of investments during 1Q24 signaling additional credit issues and resultant net investment income (NII) pressure…. Login to Read More...

Fitch’s Private Middle Market Portfolio, Rating Activity Download FitchRating’s Report here. The default rate in Fitch’s PMR portfolio climbed marginally in 1Q24, reaching 4.1% from 3.7% in the previous quarter, following one additional net default…. Login to Read More...

Fitch’s Private Middle Market Portfolio, Rating Activity Download FitchRating’s Report here. Downgrades greatly outweighed upgrades in 1Q24 as high interest rates affected the FCF and financial flexibility of issuers in lower rating categories…. Login to Read More...

U.S. Business Development Companies – Peer Review 2024 Download FitchRating’s Report here. The chart above shows trends in reported yields on business development companies’ (BDCs) income-producing investments…. Login to Read More...