Covenant-Lite Loans in Leveraged Lending: Trends, Terms, Features, Considerations for Borrowers and Lenders

With the dramatic expansion of private credit in the direct lending space, there is a great deal of competition amongst lenders. As a result, lenders are willing to carry more risk by providing borrowers with more flexibility and minimal constraints resulting in loan documents with relatively limited covenants, restrictions, and obligations for borrowers.

While cov-lite loans have many variations, one common feature is the absence of financial maintenance covenants. Also, many cov-lite loans have fewer or looser negative covenants, allowing the borrower to incur additional debt, reclassify indebtedness, pay dividends, make acquisitions, and repay junior debt, resulting in fewer protections and high downside risk for lenders.

Counsel advising borrowers and lenders must understand the common terms, elements, and structures of cov-lite loans as well as the advantages and disadvantages of these loans to properly advise clients entering into these transactions.

Listen as our authoritative panel reviews the advantages and disadvantages of cov-lite loans for borrowers and lenders and the current trends with these types of financings. The panel will also address common elements of cov-lite loans and ways lenders can protect themselves at the outset to increase their chance for recovery.