CREFC primer cites $116B in data center project bonds

Data center secured project bonds outstanding stood at $116 billion as of Oct. 8, according to Barclays figures included in CREFC's second edition of its data center financing primer, IREI reported Nov. 10. The update covers growing use of securitization and secured project bonds, recent regulatory developments, higher borrowing costs and the power and infrastructure constraints now shaping development decisions.

CREFC's second edition details a market with $44.2 billion of asset-backed securities and $22.4 billion of CMBS, leaving project bonds $49 billion larger than the two securitization channels combined.

For lenders pricing bridge, construction or mezzanine exposure to a data center, the figures suggest the likelier take-out is the project bond market rather than a conduit or single-asset CMBS execution. It remains a credit call on whether a site energizes on schedule, one of the constraints the primer says shapes development and financing decisions.

CREFC's board of governors sentiment index read 83.3 in October, the lowest since 2023 and 34% below its late-2024 record, as Private Wealth Daily previously reported. The Bank of England has asked UK banks about data center loans without tenants, as Private Wealth Daily previously reported.