JPMorgan Enters Collaborations to Broaden Reach in Private Credit
Continuing with its efforts to boost reach in the $1.7-trillion private credit markets, JPMorgan JPM has agreed to partner with Cliffwater, FS Investments and Shenkman Capital Management Inc. The news was reported by Bloomberg first, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Now, JPM will originate loans and invest in them alongside the direct lenders, who can only decline to participate in a handful of transactions over a pre-determined period.
JPM’s Continued Efforts to Tap Into Private Credit Market
Given that the private credit space has been eating into the market share of the leveraged loan and high-yield bond markets, Wall Street banks have been searching for ways to remain competitive.
In November 2023, Bloomberg reported that JPM was looking for third-party capital to supplement more than $10 billion that the bank had allocated for its private credit strategy. The financial giant wanted to bring together a group of lenders for funding the private credit deals it originated.
JPMorgan held discussions with sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, endowments and alternative asset managers.
Notably, JPM is a major provider of leveraged loans and high-yield bonds, and the private credit effort may safeguard an essential part of its business. By implementing the partnership, it could maintain control over client relationships and provide a level of certainty to borrowers that agreed loans would be funded.
JPMorgan’s Price Performance & Zacks Rank
Over the past six months, JPM shares have gained 5.9% compared with the industry’s rise of 6.1%.
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Currently, JPMorgan carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Other Banks Seeking Expansion in Private Credit
Last month, Citigroup Inc. C and Apollo Global Management Inc. APO inked a deal for a subsidiary of Citigroup and certain affiliates of Apollo to establish a revolutionary $25-billion private credit, direct lending program. The program will initially focus on North America, potentially expanding to additional geographies.
Both companies expect the program to finance $25 billion of debt opportunities over the next several years, including corporate and financial sponsor transactions. Citigroup and Apollo anticipate robust client demand and the ability to extend the program considerably beyond the initial $25 billion.
The program will include involvement from Mubadala Investment Company as Apollo’s strategic partner and Apollo’s subsidiary, Athene, both of which will have the opportunity to join commitments appropriate for their respective mandates.
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