North America Private Credit Downgrades to Moderate in 2025

FR icon
Content hub / Article / Fitch Ratings / North America Private Credit Downgrades to Moderate in 2025

Click here to learn more.

Join Fitch for the upcoming Outlook panel: Credit Outlook 2025 Private Credit

Rating downgrades and default rates for Fitch’s North America Privately Monitored Ratings (PMR) portfolio could stabilize in 2025. Modest interest rate relief and steady earnings growth will support credit profiles. Continued capital market strength could lead to repricing or exit opportunities for sponsors. Risks include interest rates that remain high relative to history, and a potential labor shortage that would affect this service-heavy portfolio.

Fitch expects downgrades in Fitch’s PMR portfolio to moderate in the coming year due to the backdrop of modest interest rate relief and GDP growth. Fewer than 12% of issuers in the current portfolio carry Negative Rating Outlooks, down from nearly 15% at YE 2023, which should also be supportive of a more favorable ratings trajectory. The downgrade-to-upgrade ratio in the PMR portfolio has stabilized around 2.6x since 2023, up from approximately 2.0x in 2022, but could start trending back downwards in 2025.

Contact Brad Hamner
Business development companies and the rise of balance sheet financing vehicles

Podcast

Business development companies and the rise of balance sheet financing vehicles

Fitch's Deb Murnin and Chelsea Richardson discuss the growing use of off-balance-sheet JVs and finance companies among BDCs, exploring the drivers, leverage impacts, portfolio risk profiles, and potential rating implications for Fitch-rated BDCs.
Listen
Private Debt Investor New York Forum

September 15-16, Hudson Yards, New York

Private Debt Investor New York Forum

Bringing together the investors, managers and advisers shaping the next phase of the market — 200+ allocators and $10.6 trillion of LP capital expected. Benchmark strategies, hear from leading LPs, and cut through market noise over two unmissable days.
Learn more
US Private Credit League Tables H1'26

Report

US Private Credit League Tables H1'26

The definitive rankings covering private credit activity in H1'26.
Download
PitchBook's Q2 2026 US PE Breakdown

Report

PitchBook's Q2 2026 US PE Breakdown

Software freezes and energy powers on as US PE deal value falls 38% in Q2 2026.
Download
Making sense of private credit defaults

Webinar

Making sense of private credit defaults

What does private credit default data really tell us? Join our exclusive webinar featuring experts from KBRA, Moody's, Fitch Ratings, and S&P Global to find out.
Register

Latest news

    Rate hike expectations ease as term SOFR curve flattens

    The CME six-month Term SOFR rate reached a recent high of 3.979% on July 28 before retreating to 3.837% as…

    Read More

    3Q26: New loan assets rise to 44% of total lending, a 3-year high

    New loan assets as a proportion of total US loan volume make up 44% of the 3Q26 pipeline to date,…

    Read More

    North American GPs dominant as fundraising accelerates

    Our PEI Private Credit 200 ranking also shows capital raising increasing overall – and accelerating especially fast for the largest…

    Read More