ENPRIVATE CREDIT, BUSINESS LEVERAGE & MARKET DATA · OCTOBER 20, 2026
Fed Adds Private Credit to U.S. Financial Accounts
The Federal Reserve has added private-credit vehicles and loans to the Financial Accounts, estimating $1.5 trillion of private-credit loans to U.S. businesses at year-end 2025.
What the Federal Reserve published
Source publication date: October 16, 2026. A Federal Reserve FEDS Note explains that, beginning with the September 2026 Financial Accounts release, the Board added sectors for private-credit vehicles and new instrument tables for private-credit loans and private-debt-fund shares. The authors define private credit as privately negotiated business loans originated by nonbank investment funds. The statistical integration improves measurement; it is not a credit forecast or endorsement of a lender or fund.
- 01New sectors improve visibility
- 02Middle-market funding is central
- 03Deal-level terms still control
The market is large and varied
The note estimates that private-credit vehicle assets under management grew from about $350 billion in 2012 to more than $2.6 trillion at the end of 2025. Outstanding private-credit loans to U.S. businesses totaled about $1.5 trillion, including $335 billion from foreign-domiciled funds. Private debt funds and business development companies held the largest shares, with middle-market CLOs, interval funds, and tender-offer funds also included.
The revision changes how leverage and intermediation are measured
Before the new treatment, many loans from U.S.-domiciled private-credit vehicles were not separately identified as loan assets of a financial sector; related business liabilities could appear in miscellaneous categories or be attributed differently. Integrating the vehicles lets users trace funding from investors through private-credit vehicles to borrowers and assess business leverage and financial-stability links more completely. National accounts still cannot describe a specific loan’s documentation or risk.
Practical borrower and investor takeaway
Maintain one debt and capital schedule covering banks, private funds, BDCs, seller notes, equipment debt, leases, affiliates, guarantees, hedges, and unfunded commitments. Record each creditor and vehicle, balance, maturity, rate, amortization, lien, collateral, covenant, reporting duty, prepayment term, intercreditor restriction, equity feature, and change-of-control right. Stress refinancing and liquidity across facilities together. Use the new aggregate data as market context while relying on executed documents, current cash flow, collateral, sponsor support, and qualified diligence for transaction decisions.
Middle-market borrowers and investors should map every bank and nonbank obligation consistently, including lender vehicle, maturity, lien, covenant, intercreditor, equity, and refinancing exposure, because aggregate visibility does not replace deal-level diligence.
Discuss a financing need →This independent summary is based on the cited source and is provided for general educational purposes only. Terms and program requirements may change.