Bloomberg Global Credit Forum | Live From New York

Why It Matters

Constraining private credit without alternative channels risks tightening overall credit supply and slowing economic growth, making regulatory and policy choices about nonbank lenders material for markets and corporate financing. Policymakers and investors should monitor how private credit fills gaps left by banks and the potential macroeconomic consequences of limiting it.

Summary

Speakers at the Bloomberg Global Credit Forum warned that private credit has been a key driver of post‑2008 growth by filling the lending gap created when banks retrenched after Dodd‑Frank. The panel argued that reducing the role of private credit risks shrinking economic activity unless new sources of financing replace the lost bank lending. In the U.S., alternative lenders largely made up the shortfall and then some; the conversation suggested Europe has not matched that shift. Panelists emphasized private credit’s systemic importance for overall credit availability and growth dynamics.

Original Description

After years of expansion, credit markets are facing some fierce headwinds. War, tariffs and higher-for-longer interest rates are straining companies that levered up during the easy-money era. Private credit managers are fending off rising portfolio stress and investor redemptions. Yet borrowing demands have rarely been greater, driven by a rush to develop artificial intelligence, a promised revival in M&A and a shifting world order that is fueling defense spending.

To unpack it all, Bloomberg News' financial journalists are teaming up with Bloomberg Television to bring the Global Credit Forum to New York. We're gathering some of the industry's most influential voices to explore where debt markets go from here. The event starts at 9:15 am ET in New York.