Leveraged Lending: First, and Holding the LoansNarrow moat

Goldman Sachs (GS) — moat facet

Goldman leads leveraged lending because it will put its own balance sheet behind the buyouts it advises on.

Goldman ranked first in leveraged loans for 2025 and first in leveraged lending for the first half of 2026, according to Dealogic12. That ranking is a sign of how the firm now competes for banking business: by committing its own balance sheet to finance the buyouts and acquisitions it advises on.

Firm loans ($bn)196Dec 2024238Dec 2025261Jun 2026Goldman Sachs Q4 2025 and Q2 2026 earnings releases
Loans up a third in eighteen months.

The loan book shows it. Global Banking & Markets loans were $127,697 million at the end of 2024 and $150,130 million at the end of 20253. Firm loans were $196 billion and $238 billion at those dates4, and about $261 billion in June 20265.

Lending wins mandates. A private equity firm buying a company wants an adviser that can also promise the debt, and a bank that will underwrite the loan gets the fees for arranging it, the interest while it holds it, and often the next deal. The restatement at the end of 2025 moved primary loan syndication into FICC financing6, which shows how closely the firm now ties lending to its markets business.

The cost is risk that an advisory boutique does not carry. When markets shut, a bank that has committed to a loan it cannot sell holds it. Goldman's credit record is good: about 85% of its loans are secured and the net charge-off rate was 0.6% in 20257.

The loan book has grown each quarter. Loans were $196 billion at the end of 2024, $222 billion in September 2025 and $238 billion at the end of 20258, then $253 billion in March 2026 and $261 billion in June9. The firm says about 85% of gross loans are secured10.

Trouble would show first in provisions. They were $102 million in the second quarter of 202611; a quarter above $600 million outside consumer lending would mean the leveraged book was costing more than it earned.

Moat trajectory: Widening

Firm loans $196bn (2024) to about $261bn (June 2026).

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Provision for credit losses, latest quarter
$102M (Q2 2026) vs $384M a year earlier

The cost of the lending that wins mandates; a quarter above $600M outside consumer lending would show the leveraged book turning.

Source: Goldman Sachs Q2 2026 earnings results ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Holding the Loans When Markets Shut
The bank that leads leveraged lending is the one holding the loans when a buyout cannot be sold.
References
  1. ReportedGoldman ranked first in leveraged loans for 2025 and first in leveraged lending for the first half of 2026, according to Dealogic.
    Goldman Sachs fourth-quarter 2025 earnings presentation and strategy update, Form 8-K exhibit 99.2 - league tables, wallet share and client rankings. — FY2025 · publ. 15 January 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedGoldman ranked first in leveraged loans for 2025 and first in leveraged lending for the first half of 2026, according to Dealogic.
    Goldman Sachs second-quarter 2026 earnings presentation, Form 8-K exhibit 99.2 - ROE, ROTE, efficiency ratio, Dealogic rankings, AUS by channel, alternatives fundraising and wealth figures. — Q2 2026 · publ. 14 July 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedGlobal Banking & Markets loans were $127,697 million at the end of 2024 and $150,130 million at the end of 2025.
    Goldman Sachs Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - segment results on the basis restated in the fourth quarter of 2025: net revenues by line, pre-tax earnings, return on equity, average common equity, loans and assets by segment for 2023-2025 - Global Banking & Markets segment results. — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. 25 February 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedFirm loans were $196 billion and $238 billion at those dates, and about $261 billion in June 2026.
    Goldman Sachs full-year and fourth-quarter 2025 earnings results, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - net revenues by region, net interest income, deposits, loans, AUS rollforward, capital returned and Apple Card effects. — FY2025 · publ. 15 January 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedFirm loans were $196 billion and $238 billion at those dates, and about $261 billion in June 2026.
    Goldman Sachs second-quarter 2026 earnings results, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - segment and line revenues for the quarter and half, earnings, balance sheet, capital, VaR, assets under supervision and the dividend increase - balance sheet, capital, risk, provisions, headcount and capital returned. — Q2 2026 · publ. 14 July 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedThe restatement at the end of 2025 moved primary loan syndication into FICC financing, which shows how closely the firm now ties lending to its markets business.
    Goldman Sachs Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - segment results on the basis restated in the fourth quarter of 2025: net revenues by line, pre-tax earnings, return on equity, average common equity, loans and assets by segment for 2023-2025 - Global Banking & Markets segment results. — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. 25 February 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedGoldman's credit record is good: about 85% of its loans are secured and the net charge-off rate was 0.6% in 2025.
    Goldman Sachs fourth-quarter 2025 earnings presentation and strategy update, Form 8-K exhibit 99.2 - strategy and firmwide targets, talent, capital management, funding and credit. — FY2025 · publ. 15 January 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedLoans were $196 billion at the end of 2024, $222 billion in September 2025 and $238 billion at the end of 2025, then $253 billion in March 2026 and $261 billion in June.
    Goldman Sachs fourth-quarter 2025 earnings presentation and strategy update, Form 8-K exhibit 99.2 - Global Banking & Markets: league tables, wallet share, clients, financing and intermediation. — FY2025 · publ. 15 January 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedLoans were $196 billion at the end of 2024, $222 billion in September 2025 and $238 billion at the end of 2025, then $253 billion in March 2026 and $261 billion in June.
    Goldman Sachs second-quarter 2026 earnings results, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - segment and line revenues for the quarter and half, earnings, balance sheet, capital, VaR, assets under supervision and the dividend increase - balance sheet, capital, risk, provisions, headcount and capital returned. — Q2 2026 · publ. 14 July 2026 · source ↗
  10. ReportedThe firm says about 85% of gross loans are secured.
    Goldman Sachs fourth-quarter 2025 earnings presentation and strategy update, Form 8-K exhibit 99.2 - strategy and firmwide targets, talent, capital management, funding and credit. — FY2025 · publ. 15 January 2026 · source ↗
  11. ReportedThey were $102 million in the second quarter of 2026; a quarter above $600 million outside consumer lending would mean the leveraged book was costing more than it earned.
    Goldman Sachs second-quarter 2026 earnings results, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - segment and line revenues for the quarter and half, earnings, balance sheet, capital, VaR, assets under supervision and the dividend increase - firm results: net revenues, earnings, EPS, returns and costs. — Q2 2026 · publ. 14 July 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 28, 2026