Fitch: U.S. private lending default rates rose to record highs in July

On 14 August, Fitch ratings reported that the default rate of 1,300 private United States borrowers they tracked had risen to record highs in July. Fitch began tracking the data in August 2024 and, on a rolling basis over the past 12 months, the default rate for this group of borrowers rose to 6.1 per cent in July, up from 6 per cent in June. In the case of 300 issuers whose Fitch gave a private rating to insurance companies, the default rate fell from 9.4 per cent in June to 8.6 per cent in July. Of the 1300 private lending borrowers mentioned above, three private lending defaults were recorded in July, involving one additional defaulter and two re-default borrowers. As at 12 July 2026, 83 borrowers had defaulted, triggering 105 defaults。