In the penultimate week of May, the LMA embarked on its Nordic tour, with Scott McMunn, CEO and Gemma Lawrence-Pardew, Head of Sustainability of the LMA, meeting nearly 250 members over the course of just three days. We kicked off with our Nordic Seminar in Stockholm before heading to Oslo and Helsinki for a series of roundtables aimed at better understanding the priorities and challenges facing our Nordic members. Denmark – you were not forgotten and we will hopefully visit soon!
While it was a whirlwind trip that left little time to take in the stunning surroundings, the depth and quality of the conversations more than made up for it.
Nordic Loans Seminar
To begin with what stood out to the LMA experts most: our expert speakers at the Nordic Loans Seminar offered a sharp and timely overview of the evolving credit landscape across sectors and regions, all set against a backdrop of global uncertainty and regulatory change. While cautious optimism emerged in some areas, a number of consistent themes were highlighted, pointing to both opportunities and headwinds for lenders, borrowers, and investors across the Nordic markets. Looking at specifics:
1. Market Volatility and Fragmented Momentum
Despite strong momentum in late 2024, 2025 has proven bumpy. Infrastructure finance, while still attractive due to its long-term stability, remains constrained by tight margins and increasingly aggressive deal structures. The leveraged finance space remains a key pillar in the Nordics, especially in the mid-market. While 2024 was dominated by refinancings and repricings, early 2025 has seen tentative green shoots of M&A. CLO demand is supporting activity, though broader European syndicated pipelines remain uncertain. The mid-market presents the best prospects for growth, aided by Nordic banks’ strong lending appetite.
Corporate lending has become a borrower-led market, with banks keen to deploy capital amidst generally cautious borrower sentiment. Meanwhile, real estate lending is stable but constrained, particularly in development finance, as macroeconomic headwinds persist.
2. Private Credit: Friend or Foe?
Private credit continues to reshape the Nordic lending landscape. While Nordic banks are well-capitalised and less reliant on private credit than their U.S. counterparts, the asset class is increasingly seen as both a competitor and a complement to syndicated lending. In times of market stress, private credit’s execution speed makes it attractive, but banks retain a competitive edge via strong regional relationships and access to alternative capital pools such as pension funds.
The coexistence model is emerging, with collaboration more likely than direct competition in some segments. Yet the rise of large international investment funds is pressuring traditional Nordic lending clubs, potentially reshaping market dynamics over time.
3. Technology and Syndication Efficiency
Lean syndicate teams and rising deal complexity are driving interest in AI and automation. From comparing legal documents to drafting syndication materials, panellists agreed there is “low-hanging fruit” for digitisation. Embracing these tools could free up time for strategic focus, particularly as the market grows more complex and resource-constrained.
4. Sustainable and Transition Finance: Promising but Patchy
Sustainability-linked loans are in decline, partly due to structural complexity and regulatory hurdles. Midmarket players remain engaged, especially where governance or reputational factors are strong. Nonetheless, some corporates see little added value, especially when banks already perform internal sustainability assessments.
Meanwhile, transition finance is gaining momentum as a critical tool to support decarbonisation in hard-to-abate sectors. Nordic institutions, with their strong track records in innovation and sustainability, are well-positioned to take a leadership role in shaping this market.
Opportunities are also abundant in emerging markets, particularly for those willing to engage in partnerships with multilateral development banks and embrace blended finance models to help de-risk investments.
5. Geopolitics, Trade, and Market Sentiment
Tariff-related uncertainties and macroeconomic pressures, such as US trade policy and shifting global alliances, have influenced deal flow and borrower behaviour. Activity in infrastructure remains strong, particularly with international investors targeting assets in Norway and Sweden. Yet concerns over syndication risk and unpredictable regulation continue to temper enthusiasm.
6. Future Outlook: Adaptability Is Key
Looking ahead, panellists expect 2025 to remain a transitional year, with true recovery more likely in 2026. Midmarket leveraged deals, defensive infrastructure plays, and sustainability-linked financing remain areas of interest. The key challenge lies in navigating uncertainty and maintaining flexibility, both structurally and strategically.
In closing, the sentiment was clear: the Nordic market has proven resilient, but continued evolution – technological, strategic, and regulatory – will define its trajectory. In this “tricky world,” success will depend on collaboration, adaptability, and a clear understanding of long-term value.
Roundtables takeaways: Practical Needs and Next Steps
The Nordic region offers a strong pipeline of opportunities, albeit with clear market-specific differences:
- Sweden is the most internationalised market, particularly in fund-driven transactions.
- Norway has a well-developed legal market, driven by bilateral structures and natural resource lending.
- Finland stands out in sustainable finance and domestic investor activity.
Real estate finance is particularly prominent in Norway, though documentation is seen as overly complex and underutilised. Across financial institutions, there is clear appetite for more tailored, simplified templates, particularly for real estate and mid-market corporates, though this was met with caution from the legal community, who raised concerns around transferability.
When banks diverge from standard LMA documentation, the variation in individual requirements severely limits transferability, contributing to the absence of a secondary market in local law transactions. There is growing support for a joint Nordic platform to develop standardised documentation with common transferability clauses, beyond the scope of existing LMA work.
Despite a shared set of core banking players operating regionally, member needs differ. Discrepancies emerged around documentation, regulation, and sustainability: what works in Stockholm may not resonate in Oslo or Helsinki. Larger institutions may work with standard English-law LMA documentation, while others prefer localised, simplified alternatives that align with national legal frameworks.
Sustainability-linked lending remains a dynamic but unevenly developed field. Many banks report difficulty aligning internal committees around non-annual KPIs, despite others moving to adopt them. There’s a notable shift away from exotic KPIs toward more linear, emissions-based targets, including Scope 3. Despite concerns that sustainability principles may have become too rigid for innovation, several markets (notably Finland) have made strides, though the London-centric language of templates is a barrier. Adaptations are needed to mirror the broader European market, especially in regions like the Nordics. There is also rising interest in nature and biodiversity-related KPIs, but clients remain hesitant. Similarly, carbon and biodiversity credits are attracting local institutional attention, but regulatory uncertainty and concerns about greenwashing make them a difficult space for banks and capital markets to navigate.
Across the board, members highlighted the need for enhanced in-person education (potentially in collaboration with local training providers), junior networking, and regulatory clarity, particularly on the divergent interpretations of EBA guidance, which risk undermining a level playing field.
The Nordic Seminar was naturally a topic of discussion, with questions raised as to whether Stockholm should remain its long-standing home, or whether the event should rotate across the region to better reflect and engage all market participants active in the Nordics. Rotation may improve inclusivity and engagement across the Nordic region, though some caution it may dilute the seminar’s identity.
Now we ask: do you agree with these takeaways? Share your views and help shape our Nordic agenda, ensuring we deliver the regionally relevant resources, training, and documentation reform our members need.
