Credit Currents

Tracking the forces shaping credit markets — and the signals investors should watch next.

Tracking default activity across credit markets (part I)

April 30, 2026 | Dominique Bly

While defaults remain somewhat elevated in liquid credit markets, investor outcomes tell a more nuanced story. In this week’s Credit Currents, we examine where default activity is most active, how the growing role of distressed transactions is reshaping the workout cycle, and why recoveries and security selection matter as much as default levels for returns.

Additional perspectives on credit

Examining M&A activity and why it matters for credit

Beneath resilient M&A activity, an important divide is taking shape. In this week’s Credit Currents, we look at what is driving today’s deal environment, how private equity dynamics are evolving, and what both could mean for financing demand across credit markets.

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Navigating private credit’s liquidity, scale, and performance dynamics

As liquidity gets tested in parts of private credit, the real differentiator is how managers navigate an increasingly dispersed market.

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Earnings readthrough: Implications for credit investors

The backdrop still looks supportive for credit, but beneath the surface, outcomes are becoming far more borrower-specific.

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Navigating AI’s cross currents

AI is opening new doors across credit markets even as it creates sharper winners and losers beneath the surface.

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Private credit’s growth through an insurance lens

A closer look at what draws insurers deeper into private credit — and where the real boundaries may lie.

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Putting Private Credit Concerns in Perspective

An examination of whether the market’s loudest concerns point to broader stress — or a more selective story beneath the surface.

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Q2 2026 - Uneven resilience

Markets are now navigating a more complex risk environment. Geopolitical developments add another layer of uncertainty, but the extent of impacts is still unknown.

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Q1 2026 - Dispersion, not disruption

With peak macro headwinds likely behind us, the focus shifts from broad disruption to sharper differentiation. In this environment, income still stands out — but so does the need to be selective.

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Q4 2025 — Still climbing the ‘wall of worry’

A closer look at the questions building beneath a still-resilient market backdrop.

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Q3 2025 — Two-sided risks

An exploration of the tension between opportunity and caution as risk broadens out.

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Q2 2025 — Crosscurrents

A closer read on the competing signals shaping credit beneath an unsettled backdrop.

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1H 2026 Private Credit Chartbook

A visual deep dive into key trends shaping private credit markets.

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