A high-performing and steadily growing asset class, Private Credit has had to contend with fiin 2025 to unprecedented media attention unprecedented that is forcing the sector to reinvent its communication.
After bed bugs and cockroaches… New pests have entered the public debate thanks to a witty remark by Jamie Dimon. Asked to comment on the high-profile (and, it seems, fraudulent) bankruptcies of First Brands and Tricolor, the CEO of JP Morgan responded in October 2025 with a telling analogy:“When you see a cockroach, chances are it’s not alone…”
Should a president say something like that, at the risk of making a self-fulfilling prophecy? In any case, that was all it took to haunt the nights of investors for whom the scenario of a systemic crisis triggered by what is euphemistically called “credit incidents ” (failure to repay debt) in a sector with little or no regulation has a distinct air of “déjà vu”… Many commentators, and even the IMF, have echoed Jamie Dimon in viewing the bankruptcies of First Brands and Tricolor as the famous “canary in the coal mine” heralding a “market dislocation”—in other words, a crash. For no investor has forgotten that the subprime crisis—which was to become a full-blown financial crisis—began as early as August 2007, amid relative public indifference, with the freeze of three BNP Paribas funds.
And, in fact, just a few days after Dimon’s departure, Blue Owl, one of the leading managers of “private credit” funds ” (funds that invest directly in corporate debt), froze redemptions from one of its funds after recording outflows amounting to 15% of the fund’s value over the first nine months of 2025. Blue Owl’s ill-advised move (and clumsy communication) accelerated investor redemptions amid this climate of widespread suspicion (approximately 5% of the funds’ value in the fourth quarter alone, according to theFinancial Times).
This asset class, which already represents more than $2,000 billion in assets under management, is nevertheless poised for significant growth in assets under management, given its persistent underallocation in portfolios and the economy’s financing needs. But the information asymmetry between managers and investors is driving the latter—who suspect an infestation of “cockroaches” without knowing where they are or how many there are—to vote with their feet.
Stopping this incipient hemorrhage requires a greater effort in education and communication—something the leading private debt fund managers (Ares, Blue Owl, ICG, etc.), who are traditionally very discreet, were not accustomed to. They are now stepping up efforts to demystify “private credit”—a belated but welcome move—with the goal of helping investors understand that corporate debt, when properly selected, is a high-quality asset. Transparency regarding their portfolios, demonstrating alignment of interests with investors, and showcasing the robustness of their risk management systems are the areas where they are expected to deliver.
Alexis de Maigret
