What it is:
Credit Benchmark’s flagship monthly Credit Risk Index, a snapshot of lender sentiment toward US private markets. The CRI answers one question: are downgrades outweighing upgrades, or the reverse. A positive CRI signals net downgrades (rising risk); a negative CRI signals net upgrades (improving quality).
How it’s derived:
- Calculated monthly as downgrades minus upgrades across a universe of ~3K privately held US corporates and financials.
- Based on views from actual bank rating actions vs. traded prices.
Why it’s valuable:
- Early warning: monthly rating actions surface deterioration before it appears in default statistics, which S&P publishes on a trailing one-year basis.
- Visibility into private exposures: the segment where public ratings and market-based signals are limited.
- Multiple uses: portfolio monitoring, macro stress testing and investment committee reporting from one consistent monthly reading.
Historical Ranges & Averages
-0.17%
YTD Average
Jan 2026 – July 2026
-0.09%
12M Average
Aug 2025 – July 2026
11.64%
All-Time High
Jun 2020
-2.95%
All-Time Low
Nov 2021
Latest CRI (July 2026)
-0.81%
Current CRI, Jul 2026
| Automobiles & Parts | +4.0% | Second straight month; 28% over 12 months |
| Technology | +0.8% | Back to downgrades after three better months |
| Media | -6.9% | Third consecutive month of improvement |
| Personal & Household Goods | -6.8% | Second strong month; long-term trend weak |
Related materials
Want to see Credit Benchmark in action?
Schedule a short 30 minute demo and let our team walk you through the platform, demonstrate key capabilities, and answer any questions live.