Banks Eye Up to $21 Billion in Bonds for Anthropic Chip Financing

U.S. lenders are weighing a bond sale of up to about $21 billion tied to Anthropic’s chip leases, potentially reducing their exposure to the $42 billion bank-financed portion of the package.

Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley led the financing. The proposed sale could cover up to about half of the banks’ $42 billion loan exposure. It could take place in the first quarter of 2027, although the final size and timing depend on market conditions. If completed, it would test investor demand for debt tied to AI infrastructure.

The financing structure, known as Project North Star, uses a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) to borrow money, buy chips developed by Broadcom and Google, and lease them to Anthropic. Anthropic’s lease payments are intended to service the SPV’s debt. The contemplated bonds would move part of the bank-financed exposure into the U.S. investment-grade corporate debt market.

Broadcom’s residual-value backstop applies to the senior portion, not the entire $63 billion package. If Anthropic defaults, potential support is calculated as the difference between 72.5% of outstanding lease amounts and the sale value of the AI racks. At full deployment, Broadcom’s maximum potential liability is about $43 billion on an undiscounted basis.

People familiar with the discussions said some banks weighed leaving the deal because they believed compensation did not cover the risk amid rising interest rates and concerns about AI-related exposure. Broadcom President and CEO Hock Tan agreed to higher loan rates and stronger protections against losses to secure their participation, the people said.

Anthropic expects rent payments under its five-year equipment lease to total approximately $125.2 billion, excluding interest. The company also has conditional financing arrangements for up to $42 billion in Broadcom-related convertible notes for lease obligations and up to $20 billion remaining under a Google debt and equity arrangement. No amounts had been issued under either arrangement as of June 30, 2026.

The proposed sale is expected after chip deliveries next year. It would follow a separate $35 billion chip-financing transaction Broadcom completed with Apollo Global Management and Blackstone.