Deal Table Shows Broad-Based Activity Across Industries While Alternative Capital Providers Continue to Lead

The second quarter of 2026 demonstrated the continued resilience of the secured finance market, with 224 deals reported to SFNet's Secured Finance Deal Table. Activity remained broad-based across industries, financing structures and lender types, illustrating the flexibility of asset-based lending, factoring and specialty finance solutions as companies navigated a still-uncertain economic environment.

While businesses continued to face elevated borrowing costs, tariff-related uncertainty and evolving supply chain dynamics, lenders remained active in providing working capital, acquisition financing, refinancing and growth capital to companies ranging from emerging middle-market businesses to large multinational enterprises.

The Deal Table also reflects another consistent industry trend: the continued expansion of non-bank capital providers alongside traditional banking institutions.

Alternative Capital Continues to Drive the Market

Alternative lenders remained the dominant source of reported financing activity during the quarter. Of the 224 deals reported,  76.8% came from non-bank institutions, while 23.2% involved banks.

This distribution illustrates how specialty finance companies, factors and private credit providers continue to fill an increasingly important role in commercial finance. Their ability to provide customized structures, underwrite complex collateral and execute transactions quickly has made them indispensable financing partners for companies across virtually every industry.

Banks, meanwhile, continued to play an essential role, particularly on larger syndicated facilities, refinancing transactions and long-term customer relationships. Rather than replacing traditional lenders, alternative capital providers increasingly complement bank financing by addressing opportunities that require greater structural flexibility.

Technology Leads a Well-Diversified Portfolio

Unlike many lending sectors that become concentrated in a handful of industries, SFNet's Deal Table continues to reflect remarkable diversity.

Technology companies accounted for the largest number of reported transactions during the quarter with 19 financings, reflecting continued investment in software, technology services and digital infrastructure despite a more measured venture capital environment.

Manufacturing followed closely with 18 transactions, underscoring the sector's continued dependence on working capital financing to support production, inventory and supply chain management.

Transportation ranked third with 16 transactions, highlighting ongoing financing demand among logistics providers, freight operators and supply chain businesses.

Additional areas of significant activity included:

Chart: Most Active Industries by Number of Financings

No single industry dominated overall activity—a positive indicator that secured finance continues to serve a broad cross-section of the economy rather than depending on one or two high-growth sectors.

Receivables Finance Remains a Core Solution

Factoring continued to be one of the strongest drivers of reported activity.

The Deal Table included 53 Factoring Facilities, making it the single most frequently reported financing structure during the quarter. An additional 16 Accounts Receivable Financing Facilities were also reported.

Together, these 46 receivables-based transactions represented approximately one-fifth of all reported financings, reaffirming the importance of receivables finance as companies seek to accelerate liquidity and strengthen working capital.

Beyond receivables finance, lenders reported a wide variety of financing structures, including:

• Stretch finance facilities
• Equipment financing facilities
• Revolving credit facilities
• Senior secured credit facilities
• Multicurrency facilities
• Acquisition financings
• Credit facilities supporting recapitalizations and refinancing initiatives

The diversity of structures reflects the evolution of today's secured finance market, where lenders increasingly tailor financing solutions to borrowers' operational and strategic objectives.

An Active and Competitive Lending Community

More than 100 lending organizations appeared in the Deal Table during the second quarter, demonstrating the depth of today's secured finance marketplace.

 The breadth of participating lenders reflects a healthy competitive environment in which borrowers have access to a wide variety of financing partners, from regional banks and independent finance companies to specialty factors and private credit providers.

What the Quarter Suggests

Taken together, second-quarter activity points to a secured finance market that remains fundamentally healthy. Borrowers continue to seek capital for acquisitions, expansion initiatives, refinancing transactions and working capital optimization, while lenders remain willing to provide financing backed by receivables, inventory, equipment and other asset classes.

Perhaps most notably, the data reinforces three longer-term trends that have emerged over recent years:

• Non-bank lenders continue to expand their role within commercial finance.
• Receivables-based financing remains one of the industry's most active product categories.
• Deal activity remains highly diversified across industries, suggesting broad-based demand rather than isolated sector strength.

As economic conditions continue to evolve during the second half of 2026, SFNet's Deal Table will remain an important indicator of financing activity across the secured finance industry, providing insight into where capital is flowing, which industries are expanding and how lenders continue to adapt to changing borrower needs.

Q2 2026 By the Numbers

• 224 deals
• 76.8% of lender participations from non-bank lenders
• 23.2% from banks
• 19 technology financings (largest industry)
• 46 receivables-based financings (factoring and A/R finance combined)
• 100+ lending organizations represented
  

This article was created with the assistance of AI tools.