2022 Continued Record-Breaking Pace For Asset-Based Lending

By David Miao

The U.S. asset-based loan market saw another record-breaking year in 2022 after 2021’s previous high. Lenders syndicated US$160.2bn in 2022, up 14% compared to 2021 and more than double 2020’s low of US$72.4bn seen during the height of the pandemic. In Refinitiv LPC’s 2022 U.S. ABL Bookrunner League Table, the top four Bookrunners remain unchanged from 2021. BofA Securities held the top spot for the third consecutive year by arranging US$29.7bn (on a pro-rata basis) across 158 deals. Wells Fargo & Co remained in second, arranging US$28.7bn via 142 deals. JP Morgan ranked third in 2022 for the fifteenth consecutive year with US$17.7bn through 105 deals. PNC Bank arranged US$10.4bn via 67 deals and ranked fourth for the ninth consecutive year. US Bancorp entered the top five for the first time by moving up 5 spots from 2021 to fifth in 2022. They arranged US$8.4bn through 42 deals. Together, the top five bookrunners arranged US$94.9bn in commitments and represented 58% of market share.

The first half of 2023 marked the strongest half year total on record for the ABL market with US$113.8bn in issuance, up 52% year over year. The total also represented the first half-year period with volume over US$100bn. The results require explanation however. A significant portion of the 2023 pipeline has been defined by refinancing activity associated with the market’s transition to SOFR base rate. Indeed, roughly 70-80% of refinancing activity during the first six months of 2023 was with the sole purpose of transitioning existing credits to SOFR (as opposed to amending deal terms or extending credit maturity). In Refinitiv LPC’s 1H23 U.S. ABL Bookrunner League Table, BofA Securities ranked first with US$20.1bn over 139 deals, moving up from second in 1H22. Wells Fargo & Co arranged US$18.5bn across 107 deals and fell to second. JP Morgan held third in 1H23 with US$11.5bn via 75 deals. Truist Financial moved up 6 spots from 1H22 to fourth in 1H23 with US$7.7bn. PNC Bank fell one rank to fifth and arranged US$4.9bn. The top five bookrunners arranged US$62.7bn and represented 55% of market share during 1H23.