# Data Center Debt Securitizations Total $46 Billion Since 2018

By Enna Lee

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/37033
Published: 2026-10-21T21:04:00.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-21T21:04:00.000Z
Section: Investing

> Loans tied to expected lease income could shift losses to investors if payments fall short. The market could reach $150 billion by 2028.

Data center securitizations are drawing scrutiny over whether loans tied to projected lease income can pass losses to investors, as cumulative issuance since 2018 reached $46 billion by April 2026.

Issuance set records in 2025, and the market could reach $150 billion by 2028. Asset-backed securities accounted for 70% of the $46 billion issued since 2018, while commercial mortgage-backed securities made up 30%.

The concern centers on loans based on promised future leases before customer payments begin. Securitization turns claims on facilities and operating contracts into securities held by investors. If expected payments fail to arrive, those investors can absorb losses after lenders have transferred the exposure.

That transfer of risk has drawn a comparison with the subprime mortgage market. The comparison identifies a possible route for losses through financial markets; a crisis is not inevitable.

Transactions also show differences in collateral and credit quality. On March 3, Stack Infrastructure Issuer, an indirect subsidiary of Blue Owl Digital Infrastructure Trust, privately placed $695 million in secured notes backed by 11 leased data centers and related contracts. The notes carried a 5% rate and had an expected S&P rating of A-(sf). Part of the proceeds refinanced earlier notes.

On Sept. 24, 2025, DataBank issued $1.1 billion in secured notes in its fifth securitization since 2021. The transaction brought its securitized portfolio to $3.23 billion in investment-grade bonds and drew 38 unique investors.

SEC Division of Corporation Finance staff addressed a legal distinction on July 29. Securities in the type of data center securitization presented to the staff did not meet the Exchange Act’s definition of asset-backed securities. The response had no legal force and depended on the facts in that request.

Securitization is one route in AI buildout financing, alongside leases, project debt and private credit. Exposure to AI-related sectors remained modest for the average private credit fund in April, even as total lending to those sectors grew rapidly.