Private Credit’s Great Divide: Imminent Crisis or ‘No Big Deal’

Even in the world of private credit, which for months has pitted skeptics against true believers after some high-profile blowups, the difference of opinion has reached new heights in the past week.

To the likes of Jamie Dimon, Mohamed El-Erian and even a money manager from The Big Short, the parallels with the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis are obvious. Financial firms are “doing dumb things” in risky lending, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s chief executive officer said. El-Erian tagged Blue Owl Capital Inc.’s decision to halt quarterly withdrawals from one of its retail funds a “canary in the coal mine” for the $1.8 trillion private credit market. And Danny Moses, made famous in Michael Lewis’ book, acknowledged the push for retail money “rhymes” with what he saw some two decades ago.