For most companies that have borrowed from U.S. private credit funds, the real moment of reckoning - when their ​loans mature and ⁠they need to refinance cheap debt taken during the COVID-19 pandemic years - is ‌a couple of years away.

A Reuters analysis of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings from 74 private ​credit funds, also known as business development companies (BDCs), found only about $15 billion of a total $84 billion of ​their assets ​mature this year, with the bulk of loan maturities peaking in 2028 and 2029.

The data allays some fears in the private banking sector facing strains ⁠from higher interest rates, weaker earnings growth and pressure on profitability in the software sector.

Shares of BDCs, which are private investment funds that lend directly to many mid-sized borrowers, have been under pressure and faced redemptions due to these concerns.

Lotfi Karoui, multi-asset ​credit strategist ‌at bond fund manager ⁠PIMCO, said in ⁠a note the amount of upcoming debt due for refinancing for software borrowers in the ​leveraged loan and direct lending markets also appeared modest.

"The good ‌news is that relatively benign near-term refinancing needs for ⁠software companies limit the risk of an abrupt rise in financial distress," he said in a recent note.

Credit quality in BDC loan portfolios is weakening, with non-accruals rising and payment-in-kind income increasing in parts of the sector, according to a Fitch Ratings report.

Companies with loans maturing this year could face refinancing pressure, forcing them to seek more amend-and-extend transactions, which push out repayment dates by changing loan terms, as well as repricings and other liability-management exercises.

Software and technology borrowers are among those ‌drawing scrutiny from investors, given slower growth and concerns about AI ⁠disruption.

The risks could be amplified for loans overlapping BDC portfolios, ​since stress at any one borrower with multiple creditors could pressure loan valuations and net asset value (NAV) across the sector.

For BDCs whose shares are already trading at a ​discount to NAV, that ‌could make it harder to raise equity without diluting shareholders' ⁠interest and could increase their cost ​of capital.

(Reporting By Patturaja Murugaboopathy; Editing by Vidya Ranganathan and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)