Despite muted transaction volumes, debt teams continue to hire while equity investors remain cautious.
The reason is simple: ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐๐ปโ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐.
That logic holds on both sides of the Atlantic โ though it plays out slightly differently.
๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ & ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐จ๐: ๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐๐
In Europe, lenders are hiring because they have to.
Activity remains concentrated in:
โข Refinancing (maturity walls and covenant pressure donโt wait).
โข Development finance where projects are already underway.
โข Private and structured credit stepping in where banks have pulled
back.
These strategies create immediate workload. Hiring is driven by risk management and execution, not optimism.
Equity investors remain cautious. Bidโask spreads are still wide, financing assumptions are fluid, and acquisition hiring is limited โ with ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐จ๐ฆ: ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐, ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ
US debt markets are deeper and more liquid, with pricing adjusting faster than in parts of Europe.
As a result, lenders have moved more decisively into refinancing, rescue and structured credit โ and debt teams have been hiring earlier, particularly at VP and Director level.
Equity has been marginally more active, but headcount growth remains selective until transaction volumes and exits become more visible. Again, beds and sheds are the exception.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐
Across both markets:
โข Debt hiring leads the cycle, responding to stress and complexity.
โข Equity hiring follows once pricing stabilises and conviction returns.
Hiring trends often move months ahead of transaction data.
Debt does the groundwork first. Equity follows when clarity returns.
With a near-record year behind us in 2025, weโre cautiously optimistic this may finally be the year the market turns.
