Opacity and falling returns create pessimism around private credit – Morningstar
EXCLUSIVE: Morningstar’s Dan Kemp warns of too much money chasing too few opportunities, and urges investor caution in private credit

North American and European credit defaults to fall next year – S&P Global
Global credit default rates will remain contained next year with North American defaults falling to around 4% 

AI capex set to expand at unprecedented speed and scale – BlackRock
The 2026 outlook from the BlackRock Investment Institute notes that capital spending ambitions tied to the buildout of the artificial intelligence boom are so large that the micro is becoming macro

CLO issuance projected to hit new records in 2026 – KBRA
The ratings agency projects USD 220bn in issuance across US BSL CLOs and private credit CLOs as well as five to six European private credit CLOs next year

BoE highlights weaknesses in CLO market following First Brands, Tricolor
The central bank will soon begin its stress test of private markets, amid concerns around weaknesses in higher-risk credit solutions

European private credit CLOs ramp up, with Pemberton, Ares readying new deals
Pemberton to join Ares with new issues next year, while Barings looks at a reset of its initial static deal

17Capital plans close of second credit fund in early 2026
EXCLUSIVE: The fund's AUM is expected to substantially exceed the first fund's EUR 2.6bn AUM

Eurazeo to launch European CLO business, but timing is key
EXCLUSIVE: The French asset manager has been considering a CLO launch for some time and may enter the market next year with a BSL-backed deal

Carlyle AlpInvest backs Investec’s debut European senior direct lending fund
AlpInvest led a secondaries transaction that helped launch the EUR 400m fund

Wafra backs European private credit manager with minority stake
The Kuwait-linked alternative asset manager made the investment in Ardian via its strategic partnership program

ICG hits USD 7.5bn fundraising mark for hybrid private debt fund
ICG Europe IX is now three-quarters of the way to its EUR 10bn target

Amundi to take ICG stake as the two launch a private wealth partnership
The two firms will start by creating a private debt European evergreen fund and private equity secondaries-focused European evergreen fund

Campbell Lutyens hires former L&G MD for GP capital advisory biz
Hannah Gore-Randall joins the global private capital advisory firm after Legal & General discontinued its balance sheet-driven GP stakes programme

Concerns growing about potential turn in the credit cycle – Goldman 2026 outlook
Investors should monitor signs of late-cycle behaviours, with the possibility that pressure on leverage ratios may result in credit ratings downgrades, Goldman Sachs Asset Management said in its 2026 investment outlook

Morgan Stanley launches private market fund for European individual investors
The new product from Morgan Stanley Investment Management will invest across private equity, private credit, real assets and some public assets

CVC launches dedicated private credit secondaries platform
The alternative asset manager tapped Henri Lusa, a former managing director at Partners Group, to lead the new effort

CLO investor Pearl Diver targets USD 1.5bn for SRT interval fund
The global structured credit manager will use the new institutional, open-ended vehicle to invest in first-loss or mezzanine tranches of significant risk transfer deals

Investor demand for diversification drove multi-currency CLO
EXCLUSIVE: Geographical diversification was a driving force behind the creation of Europe’s first sterling/euro middle market CLO

Venture debt firms sound first notes of caution about AI
Venture debt loves a high-growth industry, and the growth story of the century has been artificial intelligence (AI). As some of the first investors in AI scale-ups, venture debt firms can take some credit for this success

Watch out for the cockroaches
After the collapse of First Brands, some of the biggest hitters in global finance have been quick to argue that any bugs in the system won’t affect them — but are bad news for everyone else

Private credit is too small to create a global financial crisis — but there are plenty of other storm clouds gathering
Total bankruptcy filings have climbed every quarter since June 2022

Hayfin's Gina Germano steps back from running European CLOs, Jason Late to take over
Previously a portfolio manager at Man Group, Late will replace Germano as head of European high yield and syndicated loans, including CLOs

Triple Point launches fund finance strategy with new hire
The London-based investment manager will now provide net-asset-value financing, subscription line financing, and GP financing to mid-market sponsors

Neuberger Berman raises USD 7.3bn for US direct lending
The firm held a final close for NB Private Debt V, which will be used to invest in senior secured, first-lien and unitranche direct loans

Polus raises EUR 890m for European special situations fund
The latest fund exceeded its original EUR 750m target, a source familiar told Creditflux