Bloomberg: Private Credit Defaults Are 1%, 6% or 19%, Depending Who You Ask
Posted by Laura Saville on September 18, 2026
In a new Bloomberg article, “Private Credit Defaults Are 1%, 6% or 19%, Depending Who You Ask,” reporter Kat Hidalgo examines the wide divergence in private credit default estimates across the $1.8 trillion market — from Fitch’s record 6.3% to Houlihan Lokey’s sub-1% loan-size-weighted measure to Pimco’s 19% “shadow” default rate for business development companies (BDCs). The piece traces the gap to a lack of standardized disclosure and definitions of distress across the market. Credit Benchmark’s own research is cited as evidence of that disconnect, pointing to a divergence between how BDCs themselves are rated and the risk building up in their underlying loan books.
“Credit Benchmark research found that… default risk for their underlying holdings had increased 12%.”
Kat Hidalgo, Bloomberg, 17 September 2026
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