This is the 13th edition of our U.S. leveraged finance primer. It reflects Fitch Ratings’ coordinated effort across several U.S. rating groups and regions. It incorporates data and opinions from the Corporates, Financial Institutions, Structured Credit, and Fund and Asset Managers rating groups.

The Annual Manual seeks to quantify and summarize the major factors driving risk and opportunity for the various participants in the market, including corporate bond and loan underwriters and investors, CLO investors, corporate debt issuers, private equity sponsors, and regulators.

This report describes the continuous evolution of the market. New players are entering, and transaction characteristics are changing as the landscape adapts to the needs of different capital providers and regulatory requirements. For context, we provide a historical perspective on structures, volume and performance for different industries and instruments.

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