May 3, 2024 (NO COMMENTS)

Mid-market lending no place for weak covenants, flexible addbacks or payments in kind, says Varagon CEO

 

The private credit sector has exploded in size from around $300 million just over a decade ago to $2.1 trillion in 2023, propelled by low interest rates and tighter bank regulation. Have the waves of cash flowing into the asset class brought the kind of lax lending practices typical of frothy markets? Walter Owens, chief executive of Man Group’s private credit arm Man Varagon, shrugs off the suggestion. “A lot of people talk about the market being crowded with so many new entrants,” Owens says.