Structured Credit Trend Watch: Navigating the Crosscurrents

Structured credit and collateralized loan obligation (CLO) issuance volume has remained strong in 2025 despite a choppy macroeconomic environment. After a brief tariff-driven risk-off in the spring that stalled a handful of deals and pushed CLO spreads wider, primary activity reaccelerated throughout the summer on the back of robust demand and heavy reset/refi volumes. By Q3, U.S. broadly syndicated loan (BSL) CLO AAAs tested the mid-120-basis point (bp) range but hovered modestly wider as supply ebbed and flowed. While tariff headlines initially clouded full-year (FY) issuance expectations, global new issue CLO volume of $184 billion¹ through month-end August suggests that a healthy pace has been maintained. Momentum also improved through the summer for private credit (PC) and middle market (MM) CLOs, led by sizable upsized resets and steady new prints from various direct lending platforms. Pricing remains at a premium to BSLs—consistent with the…