Leveraged loan volume in the U.S. hit $67 billion during the month of May, bringing year-to-date activity to $311 billion.

Most of the activity in May and throughout 2013, of course, entails refinancings, as issuers rush to take advantage of sustained cash inflows from institutional investors, which has resulted in record-low borrowing costs.

How issuer-friendly is the leveraged loan market? Some 56% of deals in 2013 are covenant-lite loans – meaning they’re less-restrictive for the issuers, as are high yield bonds – compared to just 20% this time one year ago. (You can read about how covenant-lite loans work here.)