One of the fundamental differences between investing in broadly syndicated and middle market loans is the nature of the due diligence associated with those asset classes. The world of lending to large, liquid issuers is driven by public information. Investors use widely available ratings and price data on companies over $100 million in Ebitda to…

In the previous two issues of our special series on the state of credit standards in the leveraged lending market, we took a deep dive on covenant trends. This week we take a step back and look at the overall picture of middle market credit fundamentals. So much of leveraged lending is tied to the…

The response to last week’s column, as we initiated our special series on the state of credit standards in the leveraged lending market, was heartening. Readers enthusiastically supported the notion that industry players need to be reminded of the basics of credit risk and why it’s critical to stick to the fundamental tenets of sound…

Much attention has been paid to regulators’ concerns over banks pushing leverage and other risk elements. What goes missing in these discussions is what lenders, including non-banks, think about the credit environment we’re currently in. Specifically, regardless of what the Fed, OCC, and FDIC (the Big Three) are doing with their Leveraged Lending Guidance, the…