💥 The $61B Loan Surge, Citi Joins the Watchlist & Singapore’s Private Credit Bet

📰 Welcome to Career.Credit
Good morning, dealmakers.

From record-breaking loan volumes to record-setting mandates, and some nervous juniors in between, this week’s headlines capture the velocity and volatility that make private credit tick.

Let’s dive in.

📈 Market Moves

💸 $61 Billion in a Day: Leveraged Loan Market Erupts

Monday marked the largest single-day leveraged loan issuance on record, with $61 billion in new deals hitting the market.
After a slow summer start, this sudden spike has flipped the narrative.

🔹 Deals were largely driven by junk-rated borrowers rushing in before expected rate pivots
🔹 The market's appetite, especially from CLOs and institutional desks, is clearly back
🔹 Refi activity and M&A funding were dominant use cases

🇸🇬 Apollo Wins $1B Singapore Mandate

Singapore’s state-owned Growth IPO Fund has awarded a $1 billion private credit mandate to Apollo Global Management, with a focus on tech and growth companies across Southeast Asia.

Why it matters:

• Government-led capital backing private credit is strong validation for the asset class

• Apollo continues its global expansion, showing LPs still trust scale and sophistication

• Expect more sovereign-linked capital flows into the strategy as liquidity tightens elsewhere

🧠 Deep Dive: Banks vs. Juniors

🕵️‍♂️ Citi Joins Goldman in Tracking Analyst Departures

First Goldman, now Citi.
Analysts at both firms are now being asked to disclose whether they’ve accepted other jobs, as banks double down on retention policing.

💼 What's going on?

• Too many juniors are quietly interviewing and leaving before bonuses land

• In response, banks are pressuring staff to come clean or risk losing compensation entirely

• Some analysts are being asked to sign attestations confirming they haven't accepted another offer

Why this matters for private credit:

• The "great analyst squeeze" is real

• Credit shops continue to offer a compelling exit path: quicker upside, better hours, more deal exposure

• But banks are starting to fight back

🔎 In Case You Missed It

📊 Private Credit Compensation Report (2025 Edition) – Base, bonus, and carry benchmarks across firm types and strategies. Still live

🧱 JPMorgan’s New Bespoke Lending Team – Big banks are going niche in their fight for credit market share
📡 Meta’s Gigawatt Data Bet – Powering the next wave of infra-financing opportunities

📬 That’s all for today.
If you're hiring, interviewing, or just curious about your market value - get in touch with me at [email protected]

— See you Friday, James
Founder, career.credit & Futura Search Partners