Date of Award

Spring 2025

Thesis Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Honors Bachelor of Arts

Department

Business

Sponsor

Kevin Brady

Committee Member

John Shideler

Committee Member

Anca Voicu

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the dynamics of the global leveraged loan market through a cross-country analysis of 32,635 loan issuances spanning 133 industries across 29 countries between 2005 and 2024. The study analyzes key loan-level variables; including commitment size, maturity time, facility type, pledge status, priority lien, economic sector, use of proceeds, issue year, and amortization schedule to identify cross-country variation in loan issuance patterns and borrower characteristics, comparing a selected sample of international countries with the United States. The results reveal that the market for leveraged loans has grown significantly over time, specifically due to a higher frequency of issuances, rather than growth in deal volume sizes. The market appears to have relatively maintained its structuring characteristics across regions and over time, recording a median maturity of 5-6 years, a commitment size of $75-83 MM, and a first lien secured structure. Emerging markets were observed to be following U.S. loan structuring patterns, as no significant differences were found between the international sample and U.S. entries. The United States and the United Kingdom were identified as the markets with the highest degree of sophistication and volume of deals. This research contributes to the existing literature on leveraged finance by emphasizing the role of cross-country differences in shaping highly leveraged transactions. The study provides a detailed empirical analysis of global leveraged loan structures, filling an important gap in the existing academic research.

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