NEW YORK (LPC) - Leverage levels for buyouts are close to pre-credit crisis levels as banks are more willing to underwrite highly leveraged deals following the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s softened stance towards lending risk. So far during the second quarter, leverage for US buyouts averages 6.57 times, the highest level since it reached 6.65 times during the third quarter of 2014. Leverage at this level had not been seen before that since 2007, before the credit crisis hit when leverage on buyouts topped out at 6.8 times on average, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data.