On January 30, 2012, the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) issued its quarterly survey of American banks, which found that credit conditions for many US borrowers remained tight over the last quarter of 2011. The survey, which covers US banks and US branches of foreign banks, points to investors' concerns about the impact of the ongoing Eurozone sovereign-debt crisis on US economic performance as one underlying cause of the current credit conditions. In addition, US branches of European banks, which engage mainly in business lending, have tightened their credit standards as liquidity problems beset their European parents.

Although reduced credit availability from European banks doing business in the US has not helped US borrowers looking for financing, some domestic banks have seen opportunities in deals in which they would have traditionally competed with European banks.

The FRB survey notes that half of banks in the US that lend to European banks have tightened their credit standards for these loans. This has added to the liquidity problems already experienced by European banks as interbank lending in Europe has been impeded because of banks' concerns about the extent of their exposure to Eurozone sovereign debt. Reduced availability of credit at home has led some European companies, including companies that have no US operations, to seek financing in the US bank and high-yield bond markets, in many cases borrowing in dollars or combining dollar and euro tranches.

According to a January 30, 2012 article in Leveraged Finance News, while US loan investors have long been comfortable lending to European borrowers in certain industries, such as telecom and cable, borrowers in other sectors, such as chemicals and medical equipment, have also successfully raised US financing. However, with many market participants anticipating a continued increase in demand for loans from US borrowers, some believe this could chill US loan investors' interest in loans to European borrowers that have no US presence.