Finance1 min read

AI debt concerns grow as ING reportedly seeks buyers for $500 million of data center loans

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Major lenders are actively distributing credit exposures associated with large-scale technology facilities to non-bank entities, including asset managers and insurers. Regulatory uncertainties prompted by recent election results have exacerbated worries over costly facility construction delays, triggering a sharp equity selloff across the technology sector. ING is currently soliciting institutional bids to divest a multi-asset digital infrastructure credit package by a mid-November deadline.

Key points

  • Global lenders are using private loan sales and risk transfers to move artificial intelli…: Global lenders are using private loan sales and risk transfers to move artificial intelligence infrastructure exposure off their balance sheets.
  • Recent Democratic gains in midterm elections have increased market concerns regarding pot…: Recent Democratic gains in midterm elections have increased market concerns regarding potential state-level data center regulations or construction moratoriums.
  • Institutions including JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley previously reduced their data ce…: Institutions including JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley previously reduced their data center lending exposures earlier this year.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

ING is reportedly seeking buyers for a portfolio of 12 data center loans worth around $500 million, joining a broader push by banks to distribute credit risk tied to the artificial intelligence infrastructure build-out.

The auction is said to include a $25 million piece linked to the Stargate project in New Mexico, which involves OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle, as well as certain other loan assets involving Vantage Data Centers and CyrusOne, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

ING will hold a bids-wanted-in-competition, or BWIC, auction process, with bids sized at $10 million or more due by Nov. 19, according to Bloomberg. A BWIC is a competitive process for investors to bid on pieces of a loan portfolio.

An ING spokesperson declined to comment.

Why banks are selling

The sale highlights a growing market for banks to move data center loans to private credit firms, asset managers and insurers as financing for the AI boom expands.

"We think near-term volatility could continue as the market assesses potential delays to U.S. data center construction and constraints around compute capacity."Pruksa…

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