Deal Momentum Is Back… So Is the Need for Strong MNPI and Watch List Controls
After months of muted activity, global M&A and leveraged finance markets are finally gaining momentum. PitchBook | LCD’s latest Credit Pitch reports that leveraged loan and private credit pipelines are expanding rapidly, with thirty billion dollars in new M&A financing on the near-term horizon, the highest level seen since early 2024. Private credit providers, business development companies, and CLO managers are signaling renewed confidence and reporting some of the strongest deal pipelines in years.
For compliance teams, this burst of dealmaking points to a major shift. Institutions, syndicate desks and advisory groups will see a sharp rise in exposure to material nonpublic information, creating a far more complex environment to monitor and control.
Deal Flow and the MNPI Challenge
When M&A activity rises, so does the flow of confidential information — deal terms, target financials, capital structures, and pricing guidance — often shared across multiple businesses and jurisdictions. Each leverage buyout, debt raise, or private credit transaction introduces new “information barrier” and potentially “wall-crossing” request where employees may be exposed to sensitive, price-moving information.
Recent trends highlighted in PitchBook | LCD — including multi-billion-dollar financings for Electronic Arts, Hologic, and Service Logic — underscore how rapidly deal exposure can expand within a single quarter. As loan and bond issuance revives, the web of insiders widens, and the potential for information leakage multiplies.
Without automated controls, even well-meaning employees can inadvertently trade on or disclose MNPI. Manual watch list updates, spreadsheet-based wall crossings, and ad-hoc approval emails simply can’t keep pace with today’s deal velocity.
Reinforcing Controls Through Workflow Automation
The renewed wave of leveraged finance and private credit deals presents an opportunity — and a warning. Firms that modernize their compliance infrastructure will be positioned to manage complexity and demonstrate to regulators that their MNPI controls evolve with market conditions.
StarCompliance recommends a three-pillar approach:
- Centralized Watch and Restricted List Management – Automate the addition and removal of entities, deal codes, and individuals as transactions progress. Ensure integration with trading and employee-dealing systems for real-time restriction enforcement.
- Wall-Crossing Workflow Automation – Digitize approvals, documentation, and attestations for anyone brought “over the wall.” Maintain a verifiable audit trail for every access decision.
- Dynamic Surveillance and Certification – Leverage data analytics and periodic certifications to confirm employees understand their obligations when handling MNPI.
As deal pipelines expand and cross-functional collaboration increases — from corporate banking to private markets — these tools provide both operational efficiency and regulatory defensibility.
A Call to Action
The Credit Pitch’s signal is clear: deals are back. With M&A, private credit, and leveraged lending once again driving market growth, compliance functions must move from static oversight to proactive risk control.
Now is the time for firms to evaluate whether their current systems can scale — or whether gaps in watch-list governance, wall-crossing documentation, or employee trading supervision could expose them to regulatory scrutiny when the next enforcement wave arrives.
Reliable workflow solutions aren’t optional; they’re foundational to maintaining market integrity when deal momentum surges.
To learn more about how StarCompliance can elevate your firm’s MNPI compliance management platform, schedule your personalized demo here.
The MNPI Compliance Handbook
