Wall Street Sees Lines Blur Between Private Credit and Bank Debt

A chorus of Wall Street chiefs said the worlds of private credit and traditional bank debt are continuing to collide — with Apollo Global Management Inc.’s Marc Rowan predicting that in just 18 months some borrowers won’t be able to tell the difference between the two offerings.

The $1.7 trillion private credit market swelled in size by providing capital to private, non-investment-grade companies or other businesses that couldn’t get traditional bank financing. Now, though, asset managers like Apollo or rival Blackstone Inc. are trying to lend more to to established businesses — putting them in a position to further unseat Wall Street incumbents.