Direct lending

Where the hours go

1. CIM screening and first-round IC
2. Model and 30-page credit memo
3. Credit agreement negotiation (baskets, add-backs, LME blockers)
4. Monthly reporting packs and compliance certificates
5. Amendments, waivers and quarterly marks

AI workflows for this sector

PCT-004	Kill the deal in 10 minutes: the agent that screens every CIM against your fund's box Direct lendingscreening	Vendors Claira, Hebbia, Indus Valley Partners (IVP for Credit), Raven (RavenRisk AI), V7 Go	Vendor + in-house
PCT-002	Covenants, baskets and add-backs out of a 200-page credit agreement, every line cited to a section Live demo Direct lendingSpecial sits / distresseddocumentation	Vendors Alphastream, Octus, CreditBase, 9fin, Blueflame AI +10 · See all vendors for this stage →	Vendor + in-house
PCT-008	EBITDA add-back autopsy: how much of this borrower's EBITDA exists only in the credit agreement? Direct lendingSpecial sits / distresseddocumentation	Vendors Alphastream, CreditBase, Octus, 9fin, Blueflame AI +4 · See all vendors for this stage →	Vendor + in-house
PCT-010	Lender-on-lender violence radar: scan every credit agreement for J.Crew, Serta, and Chewy trapdoors Direct lendingSpecial sits / distresseddocumentation	Vendors Alphastream, CreditBase, Octus, Ontra, 9fin +5 · See all vendors for this stage →	Vendor + in-house
PCT-007	Don't trust the compliance cert: re-run the covenant math from the monthly pack, automatically Direct lendingmonitoring	Vendors Alkymi, Finley, Hypercore, Ellis, Indus Valley Partners (IVP for Credit) +16 · See all vendors for this stage →	Vendor + in-house
PCT-013	Soft credit events, read overnight: every amendment, waiver, PIK toggle and extension in your book Special sits / distressedDirect lendingdocumentation	Vendors 9fin, Debtwire, Alphastream, CreditBase, Ontra +17 · See all vendors for this stage →	Vendor + in-house
PCT-034	The SEC asked how you calibrate your marks. An agent builds the evidence pack for every Level 3 loan Live demo BDCsDirect lendingmonitoring	Vendors The LoanEdge, 73 Strings, Chronograph, Cobalt, Oxane Partners +1 · See all vendors for this stage →	Buildable in-house
PCT-063	Refi leakage watch: which of your borrowers are repricing or leaving for the syndicated market Direct lendingBDCsmonitoring	Vendors 9fin, Debtwire, Standd, The LoanEdge	Buildable in-house
PCT-064	Spread step-ups and new PIK: the amendment trail a quarterly SOI diff leaves behind Direct lendingBDCsmonitoring	Vendors Hypercore, Standd, The LoanEdge, Versana	Buildable in-house
PCT-066	AI exposure isn't one number: tag direct compute, infrastructure, enablers and AI-substitution risk separately Direct lendingresearch	Vendors Standd, The LoanEdge, AlphaSense, Bloomberg Terminal, Moody's +1 · See all vendors for this stage →	Vendor + in-house
PCT-071	Every borrower's quarterly pack, spread into one monitoring model: covenant headroom tracked quarter by quarter Direct lendingABF / asset-basedmonitoring	Vendors Allvue, CovenantIQ, Lumonic, Oxane Partners, Alkymi +16 · See all vendors for this stage →	Vendor + in-house
PCT-073	Recurring revenue loan: test ARR leverage and minimum liquidity, and check whether the borrower can flip to EBITDA Direct lendingVenture debtmonitoring	Vendors Lumonic, Alkymi, CovenantIQ, Finley, Henon +3 · See all vendors for this stage →	Buildable in-house
PCT-074	Amendment or waiver request in: what is being asked, who has to consent, and what it does to the covenant Direct lendingSpecial sits / distressedmonitoring	Vendors Moody's, Hypercore, Versana, Alkymi, CovenantIQ +5 · See all vendors for this stage →	Buildable in-house
PCT-075	Agent notices against your book: interest, rate fixings, amortization and fees reconciled before cash lands Direct lendingCLOsmonitoring	Vendors Alkymi, Alter Domus, Ellis, Finley, Hypercore +1 · See all vendors for this stage →	Vendor + in-house
PCT-076	Early-warning brief across the book: financials, reporting behaviour, requests and news in one cited watchlist draft Direct lendingABF / asset-basedmonitoring	Vendors Allvue, Moody's, Standd, 9fin, Debtwire +19 · See all vendors for this stage →	Vendor + in-house
PCT-077	LP reporting: map the fund ledger to the ILPA Reporting Template and draft DDQ answers from approved documents Direct lendingABF / asset-basedCredit secondariesresearch	Vendors Ontra, Acuity Analytics, Allvue, Chronograph, Cobalt +7 · See all vendors for this stage →	Vendor + in-house

Latest news

1. 19 Oct 2026Regulatory

   Bank of England's PRA reported to be reviewing how Barclays booked total return swaps financing private credit loans

   Bank leverage to private credit lenders is under supervisory scrutiny, which can affect how banks price and structure back-leverage and swap financing.

   Source: The Guardian (citing the Financial Times) ↗ · more ↗

2. 16 Oct 2026Private credit

   StepStone Private Credit Fund upsizes its Wells Fargo SPV III facility to $1.0bn and cuts the margin to 1.95%

   Back-leverage is still getting bigger, longer and cheaper for large non-traded credit vehicles, even as some lenders tighten sector caps. Use it as a pricing reference point for facility negotiations.

   Source: SEC Form 8-K (StepStone Private Credit Fund LLC) ↗

3. 16 Oct 2026Private credit

   Carlyle Secured Lending sets Q3 2026 results for Nov 5 and its call for Nov 6

   Adds a listed middle-market BDC to the Q3 earnings calendar. CGBD is not one of this site's seven reconciled BDCs, so this is a date only, with no holdings figures.

   Source: SEC Form 8-K / press release (Carlyle Secured Lending) ↗

4. 15 Oct 2026Private credit

   Goldman Sachs and Phoenix Financial form a credit partnership; Phoenix expects to deploy more than $4bn

   Insurer and asset-manager partnerships remain a main channel for new private credit capital, alongside the retail redemptions seen elsewhere.

   Source: Goldman Sachs Asset Management press release ↗ · more ↗

5. 15 Oct 2026Private credit

   Main Street Capital pre-releases Q3 2026 results ranges and sets Nov 5–6 earnings schedule

   First BDC pre-release of the Q3 season. Use the ranges as a calendar cue, then re-check the final 8-K/10-Q figures before anything goes into a memo.

   Source: SEC Form 8-K (Main Street Capital) ↗

6. 15 Oct 2026Private credit

   Liberty Mutual Investments and Elda River form a strategic partnership targeting up to $500 million in credit investments

   Insurer-backed private credit capacity aimed at energy-transition middle-market credit. Treat $500 million as a target, not committed AUM.

   Source: Elda River newsroom (Business Wire) ↗ · more ↗

Public data: what you can and can't get

• BDC 10-Q/10-K Schedules of Investments on EDGAR: borrower, rate, cost and fair value per loan (quality varies; verify against the filing)
• Credit agreements filed as exhibits by public borrowers and BDCs
• Private deal terms, CIMs and lender reporting are not public

Sector descriptions are general and educational. Not investment advice.