We were joined by some of the leading voices in the industry at the annual Mid-Market forum, here's what they had to say.

• EUR 209bn has already been deployed this year across leveraged loans and high yield bonds
• Leveraged loans experienced a record year during the first half of 2017
• Refinanced capital took 61% of transactions during first three quarters of 2017

The Loan Market Association’s (LMA) 10th Syndicated Loan Conference proved a knockout event this week with some 900 attendees piling into the QEII Conference Centre in London to hear varied topics spanning the “healthy” state of the syndicated loan market to how automation might soon take over their jobs.

Last year defied many forecasts, with the Brexit referendum and election of US President Trump both upsetting the odds. This year could also be challenging for leveraged finance, with reduced central bank tailwinds as well as the triggering of Article 50 in the UK. Commodity-price volatility also leaves further jitters ahead, while the Netherlands, Germany, France and Norway face elections.

With banks fighting hard to keep hold of their turf, offering competitive leverage on deals, asset managers are increasingly looking to stretched senior financing as a way to compete in a level playing field. But with a rising number of players expected to offer the 5-6% stretched senior in 2017, the new debt solution risks doing to the unitranche what second lien did to mezzanine.

Emma Roche of Debtwire chaired a head-to-head debate between HSBC and Ares Management to level some of the views held by banks and direct lenders about each other.