Report|20 Apr 2026

Private Credit: DealCatalyst Direct Lending Conference Recap

DealCatalyst’s U.S. Private Credit Industry Conference on Direct Lending was held at the Grand Hyatt Nashville in Tennessee on April 16-17. KBRA participated as a lead sponsor of the event, which had nearly 1,700 registrants, attracting market participants including investors, fund managers, bankers, lawyers, credit rating agencies, and other service providers.

Despite recent negative media and market headlines around private credit, speakers and attendees expressed measured confidence supported by portfolio credit quality and greater selectivity in deployment and portfolio construction as the market navigates complexity, competition, and late-cycle dynamics. Below, we summarize the key themes discussed throughout the conference.

Media Coverage and Market Participants Views

A recurring theme throughout the conference was that recent media narratives around redemptions, artificial intelligence (AI) disruption, tariffs, and broader macro uncertainties have been somewhat disconnected…

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