// definition
PCDR
Private Credit Default Rate
Short definition
Fitch’s issuer-based default measure for US and Canadian borrowers in its non-broadly-syndicated middle-market CLO and privately monitored direct-lending universe. Over a trailing twelve-month period, unique issuers assigned RD or D are divided by the average issuer count at the beginning and end, without debt weighting. Multiple defaults by one issuer count once within that window. Events include payment defaults and distressed exchanges meeting Fitch’s criteria. Exercising a PIK option agreed at origination does not itself constitute default.
risk atlas
Knowledge map
Intuition
Compare rates using the same universe, observation window and default definition.
Related analyses
- Private credit, default and gatingDefaults, capped redemptions and regulator vigilance.
- The silent contagion of private creditBridges between banks, insurers, BDCs, crypto and stablecoins.
Related guides
- Analysing private creditValuation, liquidity, leverage, covenants and breaking points.
Related datasets
- debt-risk.jsonDebt Risk Radar snapshot with provenance.
- risk-diff.json1, 7 and 30-day diff of signals, sources and models.
- evidence-graph.jsonClaims, evidence and their sources as a graph.
- catalog.jsonMachine-readable catalogue of l0g surfaces.
Signals using it
- MethodologyDebt, interest burden, current stress and structural vulnerability.
- Risk DiffRecent change in risk and source freshness.
- Black Box RecorderHashed frames to replay a point-in-time state.
Primary sources
- Fitch: U.S. Private Credit, Default Rate Methodology30 January 2026, pages 1–4.