Rapids of Private Credit: Opportunities in the Eddies of ABF
Direct corporate lending has expanded nearly ninefold since 2015, intensifying competition across the leveraged credit landscape and contributing to weaker documentation standards, tighter spreads, and declining recovery rates. In contrast, we see select opportunities in private asset-based finance, where credit is secured by assets and structural protections can help mitigate downside risk.
Our latest white paper, Rapids of Private Credit: Opportunities in the Eddies of ABF, examines three collateral-backed niches — U.S. second-lien residential mortgage lending, European SME asset-based lending, and U.S. mid-ticket equipment finance. Each represents an area where structural complexity, regulatory shifts, and limited competition can create compelling risk-adjusted return opportunities for private lenders with sourcing, structuring, and securitization capabilities.