Central Banks

Private Credit and Bank Competition for Deals Poses Risks, Fed Says

  • Competition and dry powder could lead to lower deal standards
  • Researchers also highlighted use of synthetic risk transfers

The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC.

Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg
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The continued competition between banks and direct lenders to win deals could compromise underwriting standards in transactions, researchers at the Federal Reserve wrote in a note Friday.

The growth of dry powder — which has quadrupled relative to 2014, according to the note — and managers’ need to deliver returns to their limited partners could lead them to choose riskier deals and offer looser documents as a slowing economy leads to fewer opportunities, Fang Cai and Sharjil Haque wrote.