This year's report provides further evidence of the continued growth, diversification and resilience of private credit, with strong investor demand, competitive returns and broadly stable credit fundamentals continuing to underpin the market's expansion. Key findings include:

• Global private credit AUM reached US$4.1 trillion at the end of 2025, up from US$3.5 trillion the previous year: This is the second consecutive year that the asset class has grown 17%, reflecting persistent demand from borrowers and investors across an increasingly diverse range of lending strategies.
• Institutional investor demand remains robust throughout 2026, resulting in likely continued expansion and a record fundraising year: Private credit fundraising in the first half of 2026 reached its highest level for five years, contrasting with elevated redemption requests in some semi-liquid vehicles during the same period.
• AI has become a major investment theme for private credit: Investment in AI-related businesses increased substantially during 2025 and 2026, with private credit being a key source of AI infrastructure funding. Lenders continue to focus on the potential impact of AI-driven disruption into their underwriting due diligence, while adopting various strategies to mitigate risk.
• Private credit funds remain resilient: Fund-level leverage remains modest and broadly consistent with historical trends, with 41% of flagship corporate lending funds operating without investment leverage. Liquidity management tools have also enabled funds offering redemptions to manage elevated investor requests in an orderly manner.
• Credit quality across loan portfolios remains broadly stable: Key metrics including interest coverage, loan-to-value ratios and non-accrual rates show stable or improving credit quality for most respondents, although there are signs of stress and deterioration in certain market segments.