팔머 스퀘어 캐피털 BDC(PSBD) 2026년 3분기 실적 발표: NAV 상승, 레버리지 하락

주요 요약

• 팔머 스퀘어 캐피털 BDC(NYSE: PSBD)는 2026년 3분기 총투자수익 2,660만 달러, 순투자수익 1,160만 달러(주당 0.38달러)를 기록했다. 순투자수익은 전년 동기의 1,360만 달러(주당 0.43달러)에서 감소했다.
• 주당 순자산가치(NAV)는 2026년 2분기 말 13.21달러에서 13.34달러로 증가했다. 당사는 2025년 3분기 1,030만 달러 손실과 대비해 총 240만 달러의 실현 및 미실현 순이익을 기록했다.
• PSBD는 기본 배당금 0.36달러와 보충 배당금 0.02달러를 포함해 3분기 총 주당 0.38달러의 배당금을 지급했다. 이사회는 2026년 4분기 기본 배당금을 주당 0.36달러로 의결했다.
• 당사는 해당 분기 동안 520만 달러 규모의 자사주를 매입했다. 경영진은 분기 말 기준 자사주 매입 한도가 약 2,480만 달러 남았으며, 자사주 매입이 단기 자본 배분의 우선순위로 유지되고 있다고 밝혔다.
• 레버리지 비율은 부채 상환과 NAV 상승을 반영하여 2분기 1.71배에서 1.63배로 낮아졌다. 2026년 9월 30일 기준 가용 유동성은 약 1억 9,500만 달러였다.
• 경영진은 현재 광범위 신디케이트론보다 사모 크레디트에서 더 나은 상대적 가치를 찾고 있으며, 신디케이트론 시장 내에서는 신규 발행보다 세컨더리 시장 기회를 선호하고 있다.

핵심 재무 데이터

사업 및 포트폴리오 성과

PSBD의 포트폴리오는 선순위 담보부 크레디트에 집중된 상태를 유지했다. 분기 말 기준 포트폴리오의 97%가 선순위 담보부 채권으로 구성되었으며 45개 산업군에 걸쳐 다변화되어 있었다. 상위 10개 투자 건이 포트폴리오의 10.92%를 차지했고, 평균 투자 규모는 약 410만 달러였다.

부채 및 수익 창출 증권의 가중평균 만기수익률(YTM)은 공정가치 기준 11.99%, 상각후원가 기준 8.38%였다. 선순위 담보 차주의 가중평균 EBITDA는 공정가치 가중 기준으로 4억 8,300만 달러, 선순위 담보 레버리지 비율은 5.71배, 이자보상배율은 2.38배였다.

신규 사모 크레디트 대출은 분기 투자 활동의 12.2%를 차지했으며 기준금리 대비 가중평균 659bp의 스프레드를 기록했다. 경영진은 사모 크레디트 비중이 전체 포트폴리오의 약 15% 수준까지 확대되었다고 밝혔다.

부실채권(미수이자 계상 중단 대출) 비율은 공정가치 기준 1bp 미만, 원가 기준 96bp를 유지했다. 경영진은 포트폴리오의 신용 성과에 대한 자신감을 표명하며, 차주들이 추가 금리 인상을 감내할 수 있는 충분한 이자보상 능력을 유지하고 있다고 설명했다.

조달 측면에서 PSBD는 BDC CLO 조건을 리셋하고 만기를 연장했다. 이번 거래를 통해 가중평균 조달비용이 SOFR + 172bp에서 SOFR + 139bp로 낮아졌고, 재투자 기간은 2031년 7월까지, 만기는 2039년 7월로 연장되었다. 또한 당사는 미사용 수수료를 줄이기 위해 뱅크오브아메리카의 광범위 신디케이트론 한도 중 과도한 여유 한도를 축소했다.

경영진 전망

경영진은 2027년으로 들어서며 주당 0.36달러의 기본 배당금 지속 가능성에 대해 자신감을 유지하고 있다고 밝혔다. 기본 배당금을 초과하는 모든 이익은 당사의 기존 정책에 따라 보충 배당을 통해 지급될 것으로 예상된다.

당사는 최근의 리파이낸싱 활동과 시장에 반영된 기준금리 전망이 수익 창출력을 뒷받침할 것으로 예상한다. 또한 경영진은 신용 한도가 변동 기준금리 변화에 계속 노출되어 있음에도 불구하고, CLO 리파이낸싱과 여유 신용한도 축소에 따라 조달비용이 비교적 안정적으로 유지될 것으로 기대하고 있다.

PSBD는 높아진 금리 변동성과 지정학적 불확실성이 4분기 거래 활동에 지속적으로 부담을 줄 것으로 예상한다. 경영진은 스폰서 주도 거래 절차가 더 오래 걸리고 있지만, 스폰서들이 궁극적으로 거래를 진행해야 하는 만큼 거래 활동은 고르지 않은 속도로 시간이 지나면서 개선될 것이라고 전했다.

자본 배분은 신규 투자, 부채 감축, 자사주 매입 간의 균형을 계속해서 유지할 것이다. 경영진은 레버리지가 더 낮아질 수 있음을 시사했으나, 신규 자금 집행 기회를 추구하기 위해서만 현재 수준에서 레버리지를 대폭 확대하지는 않을 것이라고 밝혔다.

리스크 및 관전 포인트

• 높은 기준금리가 PSBD의 변동금리 포트폴리오 수익률을 뒷받침함에도 불구하고, 지속적인 인플레이션과 추가적인 금리 인상 가능성은 차주의 조달비용을 증가시킬 수 있다.
• 경유 가격 상승을 포함한 중동 및 유럽의 지정학적 긴장은 경제 성장에 추가적인 불확실성을 유발한다.
• 3분기 대부분 동안 광범위 신디케이트론 스프레드가 좁게 유지되어 발행 시장 일부 영역의 위험조정 수익률 잠재력이 제한되었다.
• 9월 말과 10월에 신용시장 변동성이 확대되었으며, 이는 단기 포트폴리오 평가가치 및 NAV 안정성에 압박을 가할 수 있다.
• AI 관련 채권 발행이 투자 자금을 두고 경쟁하고 있는 반면, 데이터센터 인허가 및 건설에 대한 반대는 AI 인프라 개발에 영향을 미칠 수 있다.
• 침체된 M&A 활동과 연장된 거래 일정은 단기 자금 집행 기회를 제약할 수 있다.

애널리스트 Q&A 주요 내용

사모 크레디트 대 신디케이트론: 경영진은 사모 크레디트 기회의 개선 원인을 비상장 BDC에서의 자금 유출과 관련된 완만한 스프레드 확대에 일부 돌렸다. 광범위 신디케이트론 내에서 PSBD는 현재 신규 발행보다 세컨더리 시장에서 더 매력적인 기회를 포착하고 있다.

배당 커버리지: 경영진은 확대된 신용 스프레드, 9월 금리 인상, 시장 기대에 반영된 추가 금리 인상이 포트폴리오 수익률을 뒷받침할 수 있다고 밝혔다. 포트폴리오 이자보상배율이 2.4배 수준인 상황에서 경영진은 차주들이 추가 금리 인상을 흡수할 수 있는 완충 능력을 갖추고 있다고 보고 있으며, 기본 배당 커버리지에 대해 여전히 안정적으로 평가하고 있다.

높아진 포트폴리오 회전율: 리파이낸싱 활동으로 인해 경영진이 스프레드가 더 이상 PSBD의 리스크를 적절히 보상하지 못한다고 판단한 대출건들의 상환이 이루어졌다. 또한 당사는 더 매력적인 스프레드 및 위험조정 수익률을 제공하는 기회에 자본을 활용하기 위해 CLO 메자닌 투자 지분의 상당 부분을 매각했다.

신규 투자의 만기 단축: 경영진은 일부 리파이낸싱이 전형적인 7년 거래 대신 2~3년 연장 방식으로 진행되었다고 밝혔다. PSBD는 또한 단기간 내 액면가 상환 또는 리파이낸싱을 기대하며 액면가 대비 할인된 가격으로 만기가 짧은 세컨더리 대출 일부를 매수했다.

NAV 안정성: 경영진은 포트폴리오의 유동성 대출 노출이 단기적인 평가가치 변동성을 유발할 수 있음을 인정했다. 하지만 시장 하락을 액면가 이하로 우량 채권을 매수할 수 있는 기회로 보고 있으며, 이는 장기적인 포트폴리오 가치 증대를 뒷받침할 수 있다고 판단하고 있다.

실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 전문

전체 실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 녹취록

경영진 발표

Operator

Hello, everyone. Welcome to Palmer Square Capital BDC's Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder this conference call is being recorded. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Jeremy Goff, Managing Director. You may begin.

Jeremy Goff

Welcome to Palmer Square Capital BDC's Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. Joining me this afternoon are Chris Long, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Matt Bloomfield, President; and Jeff Fox, Chief Financial Officer and Director. Palmer Square Capital BDC's Third Quarter 2026 financial results were released earlier today and can also be accessed on Palmer Square's Investor Relations website at palmersquarebdc.com. We also arranged for a replay of today's event that can be accessed on our website.

During this call, I want to remind you that the forward-looking statements we make are based on current expectations. The statements on this call that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and are subject to uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements including and without limitation, market conditions, caught by uncertainty surrounding interest rates, changing economic conditions and other factors we identified in our filings with the SEC.

Although we believe that the assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, any of those assumptions can prove to be inaccurate, and as a result, the forward-looking statements based on those assumptions can be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made during this call are made as of the date hereof, and Palmer Square Capital BDC assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements unless required by law. To obtain copies of SEC related filings, please visit our website at palmersquarebdc.com. With that, I will now turn the call over to Chris Long.

Christopher Long

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today for Palmer Square Capital BDC's Third Quarter 2026 Conference Call. On today's call, I will provide an overview of our third quarter results touch on our market outlook, the current industry dynamics at play and then turn the call to the team to discuss our portfolio activity and financial results. PSDT delivered solid financial performance in the third quarter, supported by a disciplined capital allocation strategy.

We prioritize share repurchases during the quarter buying back $5.2 million of PSBB shares under the expanded repurchase program that was announced last quarter. This underscores our continued commitment to allocating capital in a way that prioritizes shareholder value while remaining selective in a moderate deal environment. During the third quarter, our team deployed $115 million of capital and generated total and net investment income of $26.6 million and $11.6 million, respectively.

We delivered net investment income of $0.38 per share and paid a $0.38 per share total dividend, which includes a $0.02 supplemental distribution above our base dividend. Notably, our dividend payout represents an attractive 11.4% yield on NAV and 15.3% yield on the stock price as of October 30. In further alignment with the priorities and approach I've just discussed, our Board has declared a fourth quarter base dividend of $0.36 per share, with the supplemental dividends determined in the normal course.

Turning to net asset value. Our NAV per share as of September 30, 2026, was $13.34, reflecting fair value adjustments resulting from pricing moves within the broadly syndicated loan market and an increase of $0.13 per share from the end of the second quarter. Now we'll provide additional color on our broader outlook for credit and how it specifically relates to PSBD's portfolio momentarily. But at a high level, we see a similar dynamic on what we discussed at the close of the second quarter.

A multifaceted market environment that remains fluid. In the third quarter, specifically, we experienced heightened interest rate volatility late in the quarter with a 10-year treasury yield recording 1 of its largest quarterly moves in history and the 30-year yield reaching multi-decade highs. Inflation remained persistent prompting the Fed Act in September as economic data reinforced the need for a rate hike with the potential for additional increases in the months ahead.

As I shared in previous quarters, the Palmer Square platform was built for markets like these. While the macro challenges we see today create a more complex investing environment, it is this kind of complexity that highlights the capabilities and experience of the platform behind PSBD and our ability to find opportunities and create shareholder value. As Matt will discuss, we continue to see and evaluate deals across our opportunity set in floating rate bank loans and private credit, which have continued to outperform traditional fixed income and corporate credit during the quarter.

We believe the yields across the broader BDC sector, particularly given current discount NAV are becoming increasingly difficult for investors to ignore. As we look at the opportunities set in front of us, we are further reassured by the resilience of corporate earnings and the relative stability of underlying credit performance and are optimistic that attractive opportunities can arise even a deal activity remains muted by rate volatility and broader sentiment.

Turning to AI and software for a moment. AI-related debt issuances continue to accelerate during the third quarter, competing with other income-generating products for investor capital. At the same time, we're closely monitoring growing opposition to data center permitting and construction, which could impact the pace of AI infrastructure development. This remains an important trend to watch, particularly given the AI infrastructure investment represents a meaningful portion of GDP and corporate earnings growth trajectories.

As we have previously discussed, we remain confident in our software portfolio, which is strategically focused on AI beneficiaries and management teams who have demonstrated an ability to adapt and innovate. As I conclude my remarks, I'd like to reiterate Palmer Square Capital Management's competitive advantage is 1 of the industry's leading global CLO managers. The breadth of our platform, which provides extensive visibility across the entire broadly syndicated loan landscape enables us to act selectively, and we believe the combined benefits to PSBD from our scale, long-standing relationships and significant sourcing capabilities within the syndicated loan market continue to be underappreciated by the market.

We remain focused on delivering the best possible outcomes for our portfolio and most importantly, our shareholders. We believe the flexibility of our liquid portfolio, combined with our active management approach and line of sight across the leveraged loan market, positions us well to execute as market conditions evolve. Looking ahead, if interest rate volatility and geopolitical uncertainty remain elevated, we expect it to continue weighing on deal activity in the fourth quarter.

From our recent conversations with sponsors, we've heard anecdotally that transaction processes are taking longer to complete and deal time lines are increasingly being extended. That said, sponsors ultimately need to transact, and we expect activity to improve over time, although the pace of that improvement may be uneven. With that, I will hand the call over to Matt.

Matthew Bloomfield

Thank you, Chris. As Chris alluded to, credit performance remains consistent despite a volatile macro backdrop, which has been further compounded by inflationary pressures in the Fed increasing interest rates in September. Rising diesel prices resulted from ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Europe pose additional uncertainties related to the outlook for economic growth. Growing concerns about the cost of AI-related build-outs and the resulting impact rising AI debt levels have had on credit spreads has further added to recent credit volatility.

In light of these dynamics and consistent with our expectations through the summer, the BSL market saw a relatively subdued but steady activity during the quarter, with a pickup in deal flow following Labor Day, followed by a notable pullback as we moved into the fourth quarter. As spreads remain tight, partly driven by market technicals, we saw several private credit borrowers refinance into the BSL market to take advantage of more attractive pricing.

Encouragingly, we have also seen a modest pickup in sponsor-backed M&A activity across the software sector. This momentum, coupled with multiple high-profile software refinancing including Proofpoint, which priced in July and Sophos, which priced in September demonstrates the market's willingness to underwrite risk in the sector even if lenders remain increasingly risk-averse. As we have discussed in the past, for the right opportunities in the software sector, such as these and cybersecurity, we believe there will continue to be strong relative value and total return opportunities for those willing to do the work.

During the quarter, we also observed that some lenders were able to secure more favorable terms, including stronger credit documentation, wider spreads, and in 1 instance, additional junior capital support, which we view as a constructive development for lenders. Turning to the portfolio. We are pleased with performance during the third quarter. generating net investment income of $0.38 per share, $0.02 above our base dividend, along with modest NAV accretion compared to the second quarter.

We also continue to focus efforts on optimizing the right side of the balance sheet, and we're able to reduce leverage while simultaneously returning capital to our shareholders through our share repurchase program. These results reflect our active and disciplined approach to managing both our investments and balance sheet. As discussed on our last earnings call, during the quarter, we reset and extended our BDC CLO lowering the weighted average cost of debt to SOFR plus 139 from SOFR plus 172, while extending the reinvestment period to July 2031 and maturity to July 2039.

Given the lower cost of financing to our CLO, we also reduced excess capacity under our Bank of America BSL funding facility to reduce associated unused fees. Together, these actions help enhance our funding efficiency and reduced carrying costs while preserving liquidity and financial flexibility should M&A activity accelerate. Notably, we reduced our leverage from 1.71x in the second quarter of 2026 to 1.63x in the third quarter of 2026.

This was driven by a combination of debt paydown and NAV appreciation during the quarter. We are pleased with the strength and flexibility of our balance sheet, which positions us to capitalize on attractive investment opportunities as they arise. Importantly, share repurchases remain a top near-term priority as we evaluate capital allocation opportunities against our broader investment mandate. Tactically, we currently see better relative value in private credit compared to the syndicated loan market given prevailing spread dynamics. And within the BSL market, we see more attractive risk-adjusted returns in the secondary market compared to new issuance.

Our team continues to actively evaluate these opportunities and allocate where we see the most compelling value and while these are how we currently see the opportunity set, given the fluidity of the market, that can certainly change. Our investment portfolio as of September 30, 2026, had a fair value of approximately $1.09 billion, diversified across 45 industries that demonstrate strong credit quality, industry and company-specific tailwinds in a variety of end markets.

This compares to a fair value of $1.11 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2026, reflecting a decrease of approximately 2.3%. In the third quarter, we invested $115 million of capital, which included 31 new investment commitments at an average value of approximately $3.5 million. During the same period, we realized approximately $165.8 million through repayments and sales.

To recap key portfolio highlights, at the end of the third quarter, our weighted average total yield to maturity of debt and income producing securities at fair value was 11.99% and our weighted average total yield to maturity of debt and income producing securities at amortized cost was 8.38%. We believe our focus on first lien loans, combined with diversification across industries and company size contributes to a strong credit profile with exposure to 45 different industries.

Further, our 10 largest investments account for just 10.92% of the overall portfolio, and our portfolio is 97% senior secured with an average hold size of approximately $4.1 million. On a fair value-added basis, our first lien borrowers have a weighted average EBITDA of $483 million, senior secured leverage of 5.71x and interest coverage of 2.38x. Additionally, new private credit loans comprised 12.2% of overall new investments at a weighted average spread of 659 basis points over the reference rate.

On a fair value basis, nonaccruals represent less than 1 basis points and on an at-cost basis, only 96 basis points. Our fixed income represents approximately 2.18% of total investment income well below our peers in the industry average. We've maintained an average internal rating of 3.6 on a fair valuated basis for all loan investments. Our rating is derived from a unique relative value-based scoring system. Stepping back, the line between syndicated and direct lending continues to blur with borrower relationships increasingly expanding both markets. We believe our ability to invest across these financing channels is a competitive advantage, allowing us to maintain and expand incumbent relationships while leveraging knowledge of these borrowers to identify attractive investment opportunities.

At the same time, we remain disciplined in our approach to capital allocation, weighing new investments against other opportunities, including share repurchases with the goal of maximizing value for shareholders. As we closed out the year, we remain confident in the credit performance of our portfolio and the sustainability of the base dividend heading into 2027. We expect recent refinancing activity to be additive to earnings power and market implied base rate expectations to be supportive as well. Now I'd like to turn the call over to Jeff, who will review our third quarter 2026 financial results.

Jeffrey Fox

Thank you, Matt. Total investment income was $26.6 million for the third quarter of 2026, down 16.1% from the $31.7 million for the comparable prior year period. Income generation during the quarter reflected contractual interest income from our investments, which was impacted by lower base rates versus the prior year as well as a modest amount of paydown related income and fee income. Total net expenses for the third quarter were $14.9 million compared to $18 million for the prior year period.

Net investment income for the third quarter of 2026 was $11.6 million or $0.38 per share compared to $13.6 million or $0.43 per share for the comparable period last year. During the third quarter of 2026, the company had a total net realized and unrealized gains of $2.4 million compared to total net realized and unrealized losses of $10.3 million in the third quarter of 2025.

This consisted of net unrealized depreciation of $2.2 million related to existing portfolio investments and net unrealized appreciation of $9.2 million related to exited portfolio investments. At the end of the third quarter, NAV per share was $13.34 and increasing from $13.21 at the end of the second quarter of 2026. Moving to our balance sheet. Total assets were $1.1 billion and total net assets were $403.4 million as of September 30, 2026.

At the end of the third quarter, our debt-to-equity ratio was 1.63x compared to 1.71x at the end of the second quarter of 2026. Available liquidity, consisting of cash and undrawn capacity on our credit facilities was approximately $195 million. This compares to approximately $331 million at the end of the second quarter of 2026, and finally, on November 4, the Board of Directors declared a fourth quarter 2026 base dividend of $0.36 per share, in line with our dividend policy. Furthermore, our policy continues to distribute excess earnings in the form of a quarterly supplemental distribution. And with that, I'd now like to open the call up for questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions]

Your first question comes from the line of Kenneth Lee with RBC Capital Markets.

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Kenneth Lee

Just 1 on the liquid loan markets there, and you mentioned in the prepared remarks that you're preferring private credit versus the more liquid side right now. And you also mentioned that spreads remain tight. Just wondered if you could give a little bit more color in terms of some of the terms and documentation that you're seeing in the BSL markets right now?

Matthew Bloomfield

Yes. Ken, it's Matt. Thank you for the question. Yes, that's right. I mean I think on the margin, we do see a little bit better relative value, particularly from a spread perspective. on the private credit portion of the market. I think with some continued outflows in non-traded BDCs that's led to, I'd say, modest spread widening in that market. And so net-net, we think there continue to be some interesting opportunities there throughout most of the third quarter, spreads remained relatively tight on the broadly syndicated side of things, talking about kind of the primary market there, especially with some of the deal flow post Labor Day but certainly, what we've seen over the month of October with a lot of increased rate volatility in general, there's certainly some more, I'd say, interesting opportunities in the broadly syndicated second, broadly syndicated secondary market, as we mentioned in the prepared remarks.

To be quite frank, we have seen a whole host of kind of new issues coming to the market here recently as well. So I think net-net, from our vantage point, we think there'll be some better things to do on the secondary side of things versus primary. And as we move into early next year, that tends to be a slower quarter in general from M&A activity and deal flow. But we'll have to see how things evolve over the next few months.

Kenneth Lee

Great. Very helpful there. And just 1 follow-up, if I may. You you briefly referenced the dividend outlook there or at least the coverage. I wonder if you could just further expand upon that, thoughts on dividend coverage, especially given the current rate outlook and some of the potential deal activity that you see coming up?

Unknown Executive

Sure. Yes, I think as we kind of look forward and model out kind of where the portfolio sits today from a spread perspective, obviously, I alluded to my comments on some more attractive spreads on the private credit side. And certainly have seen some spread widening across most credit markets, if not all credit markets in October. So feel net-net better just about where spreads are at. Obviously, base rates, we saw an increase from the Fed in September I think the market is trying to decide which way we're headed on a go-forward basis, but certainly, there's been a little bit more rate hikes priced in throughout next year.

Which from our vantage point, we would certainly view as a bit of a tailwind for yields on the portfolio. All within the fact that borrowers are still in a very good shape from an interest coverage standpoint. We said at 2.4x and just coverage across our portfolio. So we feel like there's a good cushion for those borrowers to absorb some more rate hikes without causing too much in the way of stress from a cash flow standpoint. So all that put together, again, we feel pretty good about where we sit from a base dividend standpoint on the go forward and certainly anticipate paying out any of the additional excess income generated through the supplementals.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Melissa Wedel with UBS. Your next question comes from the line of Ethan Kaye with Lucid Capital Markets.

Ethan Kaye

Just wanted to ask about interest costs going forward. I know there were maybe some puts and takes here this quarter as it relates to kind of the CLO refinancing and the excess capacity removal. Can you talk about kind of like run rate if you expect this to be kind of a good run rate going forward, what we saw in 3Q here?

Matthew Bloomfield

Ethan, it's Matt. Thank you for that question. Yes, I think we feel pretty good about kind of where the right side of the balance sheet is now post the refinancing and extension on the CLO and the downsizing of the BofA facility. All of those are obviously floating rate based, so they all kind of matriculate wherever base rates go. But from the spreads on those perspective, we feel really good about where those are at.

But we got very nice execution kind of took advantage of all the comments we've made over the past several quarters about spreads being tight across most credit markets. And so we certainly look to take advantage of that in the third quarter as well by tightening those up. So I think on a go-forward basis, those should be pretty steady state, and we feel good for the kind of medium to longer term with those facilities in place.

Ethan Kaye

Great. And then I guess 1 more on the portfolio turnover a little bit higher this quarter, certainly relative to 1H and seemingly relative to kind of what some peers have shown so far this quarter. Anything that kind of drove the elevated exit levels?

Christopher Long

I think we as we look across the portfolio during the quarter, we did see a fair amount of refinancing activity on the broadly syndicated side of things. As we alluded to in some prior calls, spreads remain pretty tight and in some cases, kept tightening throughout the quarter. We just thought from a relative value standpoint and a risk-adjusted return standpoint that we weren't necessarily being compensated for some of those. So we just took the paydowns in those cases. We also, as you'll probably see in the 10-Q, we sold a lot of our CLO mezz investments in the quarter.

Again, as we've talked about, spreads being really tight across most credit markets, we just thought there'll be better opportunities from a capital deployment and from a spread perspective in other asset classes on a go-forward basis. So those are kind of the 2 I would highlight as being kind of ones to note in the quarter. But again, we also think we've got a lot of capacity now should volatility persist and more interesting opportunities arise on the secondary side of things on the syndicated loan side.

And certainly, as we've talked about in the prepared remarks, continue to think share repurchases make a lot of sense given where discounts are and where kind of the return on equity sits from those buybacks. And debt pay down as well. We mentioned in the quarter, we paid down some of our debt facilities to continue to manage the overall leverage level. So those are all things that I think look pretty consistent as we sit here today in the fourth quarter.

Ethan Kaye

And 1 more quick one, if I may. Noticed the weighted average maturity on new investment commitments this quarter looks significantly lower, simply less than previous quarters. Does that have to do with kind of more secondary opportunities? Or I guess what's driving that?

Christopher Long

Yes, good catch and noted on that. I think the main thing we've seen there is we alluded to a couple of the refinancings that got done in the quarter most of those or some of those that we've seen and certainly ones that we participated in, in this quarter tended to be kind of 2- to 3-year extensions versus full 7-year refinancing so that's part of it. I think those -- when it's a shorter wall, those tend to be more attractive in certain situations, not every situation.

But for those select refinancings we participated in, that was a dynamic at play there. And then, yes, to your other comment, secondary transactions where we can find credits that we feel very comfortable in from a credit quality standpoint and a repayment perspective, to the extent we can pick those up at discounts to par and those that have shorter maturity profiles we think that kind of pulled the par or the ability to get refinanced out at par on a shorter basis and makes a lot of sense for the portfolio as well.

Operator

[Operator Instructions]

Your next question comes from the line of Melissa Wedel with UBS.

Melissa Wedel

Hopefully, you can hear me this time. I appreciate you taking my question. Wanted to touch on the repurchase activity. Can you remind us if I missed it, I apologize, remind us how much remaining capacity is on that plan?

Matthew Bloomfield

Yes. Of course, Melissa. This is Matt again. We have -- as of the end of the third quarter, about $24.8 million left on that plan. So quite a bit of capacity left even after the $5.2 million this quarter.

Melissa Wedel

Got it. And then, of course, leverage did come down during the quarter, and you had net exits just wondering how you're feeling about 1.63x at the end of the third quarter? And how much room do you think that -- how you balance the additional attractive potential repurchases you could continue to do going forward versus new capital deployment? And basically should -- are you managing to maintain leverage at that level? Or how are you thinking about it?

Matthew Bloomfield

Yes. I mean I think we talked last quarter, we were comfortable at the 1.71x. We certainly didn't want to go much higher than that. But given our ability to managed leverage from a debt paydown perspective, from the liquidity in our underlying portfolio. We felt really good about that. I'd say during the quarter, as we saw those opportunities come up that I just talked about on the prior question, we didn't think it made sense to stay involved at some of those spread levels.

So we took those paydowns, certainly paid down some debt with that. As we sit here in the fourth quarter, we'll kind of make those same judgments if things aren't attractive from a relative value standpoint, we're happy to continue to take the financings and deploy that into some debt paydown and to share buybacks. But as I noted, in October with some of the activity we've seen in the broader markets, on the margin, things are getting a little bit more interesting from a deployment standpoint.

So we'll balance all of those things, but we feel good about where we sit from a leverage standpoint. Certainly, that can come down. I don't know that we'll take it too much higher from an opportunity deployment that, but it's something that we feel very comfortable managing and we'll just kind of see where the opportunity set lies as we move forward through the rest of this quarter and beyond.

Melissa Wedel

I think I meant the end of the Queue, so I'll ask 1 more. This was a good quarter also in terms of sort of sending the outflows on NAV or the NAV depreciation and had not just stabilization but a slight uptick quarter-over-quarter can you talk about how you're thinking about NAV stability going forward? Because it's definitely an area we get questions about.

Matthew Bloomfield

Yes. I mean I think it was kind of to unpack the third quarter on a monthly basis. I'd say July and August were pretty steady kind of loan prices matriculated higher in general in the syndicated loan market. as things were pretty stable. The back half of September got a little volatile. As we just talked about October in general, it was a pretty volatile market in credit at large, especially with everything going on in broader rates and inflation and what not.

But we would ultimately like to see more stability across the market. I think it's just good from a portfolio stabilization level. I think we've obviously increased our private credit allocation over the past couple of years to roughly 15% of the portfolio now. So there are things, I think we've looked to do to, hopefully, make things a little bit more stable. But as I mentioned, that volatility unlocks a lot of opportunities as well when you can execute in the secondary market at discounts to par.

Over the long term, we think that should lead to accretiveness across the portfolio. And sometimes there's a little bit more volatility in the short term. But when you see good credits that go from par and trade down a few points to the extent you can take advantage of that, we think that should build things back into the portfolio and lead to good returns on a go-forward basis, too. So that's kind of how we think about it. We're cognizant of it, but also with the liquid nature of our portfolio or at least the majority of the portfolio, that's something that's a little bit part of it, I suppose.

Operator

We have reached the end of our Q&A session. I will now turn the call back to Jeremy Goff, Managing Director, for closing remarks.

Jeremy Goff

Thank you, operator, and thank you all for your time today. We look forward to updating everyone on our fourth quarter and 2026 full year results in the New Year. Have a great rest of your day.

Operator

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.