The buzz around private credit since First Brands’ bankruptcy shows that investors need to be alert to the risks of engaging with this market. But it is also important not to exaggerate the credit risks or rate of growth of this market.

The cut in minimum Long-Term Funding Ratio (WFD) requirements from 40% to 20% recommended by Poland’s Financial Supervision Authority and the inclusion of capped retail deposits come alongside bold measures to strengthen the covered bond market.

Collections for first 10 months of 2025 are consistent with the negative trend that started in 2023. The split between recovery strategies, meanwhile, has been constant. October collections were in line with September’s, recording a slight decrease of 2%.

Scope’s 12-month trailing ratings drift for structured finance transactions continued its shift into positive territory in the third quarter of 2025, with a positive ratio of upgrades over downgrades not seen since early 2022.

Scope Ratings has published the performance overview of notes issued by Marzio Finance, a EUR 10bn securitisation programme backed by ‘cessione del quinto’ and ‘delegazione di pagamento’ (CQS) loans originated by IBL Banca.

Italian NPL collections in September nearly doubled compared with August (+95%). However, they remain significantly below the levels recorded in the same period last year, a trend that has persisted throughout the year.

The recent collapse of First Brands, in casting a shadow over the direct-lending sector in the US, raises important questions: does the rapid growth in private credit amplify corporate credit risk and will this be different in Europe compared with the US?

Climate change can materially affect the creditworthiness of all issuer types and asset classes, so we have harmonised our general framework for capturing this risk, which can be applied to produce issuer-specific Key Climate Risk Indicators (KCRIs).

GlobalCapital’s call for nominations for its European Securitization Awards 2026 is now live.

Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium need far more investment to modernise their electricity transmission grids through 2034 than southern European countries, hence the importance of having secured most of the EUR 200bn-plus in required funding.