Bank Lending to Private Credit: Size, Characteristics, and Financial Stability Implications

Private credit (or private debt) has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments of nonbank financial intermediaries (NBFIs) over the past 15 years or so. Although there is no universal definition, private credit generally refers to direct loans made to mid-market businesses typically by non-bank vehicles such as private debt (PD) funds and Business Development Companies (BDCs) (Cai and Haque, 2024; Haque, Mayer, and Stefanescu, 2025). The asset class totaled $1.34 trillion in the U.S. (Exhibit 1) and nearly $2 trillion globally by 2024-Q2, and has grown roughly five times since 2009.