A Practice Note highlighting several key trends in the US loan market in the first half of 2026. Leveraged lending levels were more muted and highly bifurcated in the first half of the year amid economic uncertainty, geopolitical pressures, and AI-led disruption, particularly in the software sector. Convergence and competition between the broadly syndicated loan (BSL) market and private credit continued even as the private credit market experienced some stress.

This Note discusses other notable points, including the effectiveness of the 2022 Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Amendments in New York and the expected impact of the EU’s CRD VI on cross-border lending, the continued evolution of liability management transactions (LMTs), and ongoing negotiations around loan terms such as loan buyback provisions and EBITDA adjustments.