US Private Credit Default Rate Hits a Record of 6.3%, Fitch Says

The default rate for a group of US private debt borrowers rose to a record in August, according to Fitch Ratings. In a report released Monday, Fitch said the trailing 12-month private credit default rate across about 1,300 borrowers climbed to 6.3% at the end of August, surpassing the previous high of 6.1% recorded in the prior month, as reported by Bloomberg.

Fitch also recorded the highest monthly total of private credit default events over the past year, indicating that the increase was not confined to a single month's reading. The trailing 12-month measure smooths short-term volatility, so the move to a new high suggests that defaults have been accumulating across the period rather than spiking in isolation.

For allocators and managers, the figures are relevant to underwriting standards, loss expectations and the valuation of private credit portfolios. The report's scope is limited to the borrower group Fitch tracks, and the source does not provide sector breakdowns, recovery rates or fund-level impacts.