Cravath Publishes Finance & Capital Markets Quarterly Review for Q4 2025

On February 13, 2025, Cravath published the latest edition of its Finance & Capital Markets Quarterly Review, which provides insight into practical points, key takeaways and relevant developments related to the bond, equity and loan markets and restructuring activity during the fourth quarter of 2025. Highlights from this edition include:

MARKET TRENDS

• On a year-over-year basis for Q4 2025 relative to Q4 2024, U.S. financing activity increased for high‑yield bonds, investment‑grade bonds, IPOs and syndicated leveraged loans, but decreased for follow‑on equity offerings.  
• U.S. financing activity for Q4 2025 generally decreased relative to Q3 2025.
• On a year-over-year basis for full-year 2025 relative to 2024, U.S. financing activity was generally higher, with increases in total proceeds from high‑yield bonds, investment-grade bonds and IPOs, partially offset by a decline in total proceeds from follow‑on equity offerings, while leveraged loan activity showed more mixed trends across market segments.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS 

• 2025 in Review. SEC leadership changes coincided with enforcement falling to a decade low, a renewed “back to basics” focus on traditional fraud and investor harm, and a dramatic shift in the approach to regulating digital assets.
• Looking Ahead to 2026. The SEC positions itself to reform Regulation S‑K and executive compensation disclosure requirements and enlist new Section 16(a) reporting obligations for directors and officers of foreign private issuers, along with a potential shift from quarterly to semi‑annual reporting for SEC reporting companies.
• Crypto Updates. Project Crypto marked a move from incremental guidance to anticipated formal rulemaking on token classification and market structure. Developments in the fourth quarter of 2025 reinforced this move with announcements regarding no-action relief for tokenization pilots and accelerating institutional adoption of blockchain‑based securities infrastructure.

Please click here to read the full report.