#private-credit

#private-credit

Rowan said the book is an attempt to clarify the confusion he sees mounting over the definition of private credit, which he attributed to the "media-ization of financial markets." "One of the things that's been frustrating to us is that we have this term private credit," Rowan said. "No one actually knows what it means, and everyone uses it differently."

The number of private credit deals that are changed after the initial deal is signed to include more risky terms for the lender is on the rise, according to Lincoln International, an investment bank advisory service that monitors that market. That's a sign that there are potential "cracks" in the $3 trillion private credit market, according to Brian Garfield, Lincoln's managing director and head of U.S. portfolio valuations.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's October confirmation triggered immediate volatility across Japanese markets. Long-term bond yields reached multi-year highs, the yen fell past the 150-per-dollar threshold, and equity indices climbed to record territory. Her public calls for looser monetary policy clashed with market expectations, forcing some investors to recalibrate their assumptions about the Bank of Japan's next moves. The turbulence reflects deeper pressures reshaping Japan's corporate funding environment.

The recent failures of auto lender Tricolor and auto-parts manufacturer First Brands, which JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon dubbed "cockroaches," had the biggest names on Wall Street pointing fingers last week. Blackstone has been paying attention too, but on its third-quarter earnings call on Thursday, the company had a clear message: any attempts to tie these bankruptcies to private credit are fake news.

Barclays has revealed a £110 million loss tied to the collapse of Tricolor, a US subprime auto lender accused of fraud - an event now seen as a major warning sign for the $3 trillion private credit market. The bank confirmed the impairment in its third-quarter results, which otherwise met expectations, showing pre-tax profits of £2.1 billion - down 7% year-on-year but broadly in line with analyst forecasts.

For perspective: Global assets under management (AUM) in the wealth market reached $159 trillion in 2024, after growing by 20% over the prior five years, according to the Natixis Wealth Industry Survey. As for private assets specifically, PitchBook has projected that AUM held by general partners (GPs) will increase from $18.7 trillion in 2024 to $24.1 trillion by the end of 2029.

Private credit allows investors to lend money to private companies rather than buying stock, offering high risk and high reward, often independent of the stock market.