Bank of England official raises alarm over private equity use of NAV loans as exits slow

'Leverage on leverage' risks

A Bank of England financial stability official has raised concerns over the private equity sector’s growing use of net asset value financing, or NAV loans, to meet liquidity demands during an exit slowdown.

During a keynote speech at Bloomberg today (22 April), BoE financial stability strategy and risk executive director Nathanaël Benjamin warned the lack of transparency about the degree and kinds of leverage entering the system poses a significant risk to financial stability. In an environment where rising debt costs and concerns over the economy have made it more challenging for private equity funds to sell or list their portfolio companies, more firms have resorted to NAV loans to finance cash distributions to investors. NAV loans use a private equity fund's assets, which are typicall...