Key Takeaways
- • KBRA released its recap of Opal Group's European Private Credit & ABF Summit, held at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square on 5 October 2026.
- • Panellists described European private credit portfolio performance as resilient and realised losses as moderate.
- • Higher financing costs, slower private equity exits, selective fundraising, and rising competition are expected to drive greater differentiation across borrowers and managers.
- • Private credit continues to broaden beyond sponsor-backed direct lending, supported by bank balance-sheet optimisation and demand from insurers and other institutional investors.
- • Underwriting discipline, manager experience, collateral controls, structural protections, and jurisdiction-specific regulation were recurring themes.
Summary
KBRA, the credit rating agency, has published a research recap of the European Private Credit & ABF Summit organised by Opal Group, which took place at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square on 5 October 2026, according to a Business Wire release datelined London. The conference gathered market participants to examine the performance and outlook for European private credit, the continued expansion of asset-based finance (ABF), and the growing use of fund finance, rated structures, and significant risk transfer (SRT) transactions.
According to KBRA's recap, panellists generally characterised underlying portfolio performance as resilient and realised losses as moderate. However, speakers noted that higher financing costs, slower private equity exits, selective fundraising conditions, and increased competition are likely to produce greater differentiation across borrowers and managers. Investors should therefore expect performance dispersion rather than uniform outcomes across the market.
Discussions also highlighted the continued broadening of private credit beyond traditional sponsor-backed direct lending. Bank balance-sheet optimisation and growing demand from insurers and other institutional investors were cited as key drivers of this expansion, as the European private credit and ABF markets continue to develop.
Across the sessions, underwriting discipline, manager experience, differentiated origination, asset-level due diligence, collateral controls, structural protections, and jurisdiction-specific regulatory considerations emerged as recurring themes. The full KBRA report is available via a link in the original release. The release also lists related KBRA publications, including its 2026 Private Credit Outlook and a comparison of U.S. and EU/UK direct lending.
According to KBRA's recap, panellists generally characterised underlying portfolio performance as resilient and realised losses as moderate. However, speakers noted that higher financing costs, slower private equity exits, selective fundraising conditions, and increased competition are likely to produce greater differentiation across borrowers and managers. Investors should therefore expect performance dispersion rather than uniform outcomes across the market.
Discussions also highlighted the continued broadening of private credit beyond traditional sponsor-backed direct lending. Bank balance-sheet optimisation and growing demand from insurers and other institutional investors were cited as key drivers of this expansion, as the European private credit and ABF markets continue to develop.
Across the sessions, underwriting discipline, manager experience, differentiated origination, asset-level due diligence, collateral controls, structural protections, and jurisdiction-specific regulatory considerations emerged as recurring themes. The full KBRA report is available via a link in the original release. The release also lists related KBRA publications, including its 2026 Private Credit Outlook and a comparison of U.S. and EU/UK direct lending.
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