Connect with us

Finance

The Great Financial Crisis kick started the private credit boom, but SVB was its true 'watershed' moment, Sixth Street co-president says

Published

on

The Great Financial Crisis kick started the private credit boom, but SVB was its true 'watershed' moment, Sixth Street co-president says

The Global Financial Crisis threw millions of Americans out of their homes and jobs, upending the entire economy. But for the private credit industry, it was actually an awakening of sorts.

Over the past few decades, U.S. banks’ problems have signaled opportunity for the private credit market, and that’s particularly true of the Global Financial Crisis and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last March. When banks have issues, U.S. businesses’ desire for capital rarely wanes dramatically, and that leaves room for alternate lenders.

At the Fortune Future of Finance conference on Thursday, Joshua Easterly, co-CIO and co-president of the global investment firm Sixth Street, explained how he was working at Goldman Sachs after the Global Financial Crisis in 2009, running a team that did public and private market transactions in distressed debt and special situations, when he came to the realization that the lending industry had changed forever.

“It was the intended consequence, not the unintended consequence of regulations after the Crisis,” he said of the private credit boom. “Policymakers…wanted to figure out how to diffuse risk away from the taxpayer, but you couldn’t crush the economy by reducing credit, and so private credit history grew.”

Easterly argued that the private credit industry has a “better model” than the banking industry when it comes to lending risk, because it holds more capital for loans on balance sheets. And that made him come to a startling realization in 2009. “Huh? I think I need to go find a new job,” he recalled saying to a colleague. “So [the move to private credit] was a little bit about necessity.”

Advertisement

Carey Lathrop, partner and chief operating officer of credit at Apollo Global Management, echoed Easterly’s comments, noting that when he started in the private credit industry “it was clear how hard it was to get things done that made economic sense” in public markets after the GFC.

The rise of private credit since 2008 has been historic, to say the least. Before the crisis, there was under $400 billion in total assets and committed capital in private credit. In 2023, that number jumped to $2.1 trillion, according to the International Monetary Fund. But it wasn’t just the Crisis that spurred the private credit boom. After the collapse of several regional banks in March 2023, headlined by the tech startup focused Silicon Valley Bank, businesses nationwide once again turned to private credit amid a liquidity crunch.

While SVB struggled after rapidly rising interest rates devalued its long-dated bonds, leading to a run on deposits from its list of influential and well-connected clientele, the manner in which private credit operates can lead to more stability in trying times.

Apollo’s Lathrop explained that banks like SVB “had this mismatch with a lot of long-term assets with assets with short term liabilities” that led to unrealized loan losses on their books as rates soared. But private credit doesn’t have this same issue. “We don’t run the [private credit] business that way,” he noted. “We were much more match funded.”

To his point, unlike banks, which fund a majority of their lending through customer deposits (and often uninsured deposits), private credit funds tend to use money from wealthy investors and institutions to make loans, leaving them less exposed to rising interest rates.

Advertisement

Sixth Street’s Easterly said the SVB drama essentially showed “the robustness” of the private credit] business model, leading a raft of new clientele. “I think it was a watershed moment for the value of the asset class.”

Subscribe to the CFO Daily newsletter to keep up with the trends, issues, and executives shaping corporate finance. Sign up for free.

Finance

Car finance saga: Millions of motorists to find out how they will be compensated

Published

on

Car finance saga: Millions of motorists to find out how they will be compensated

Millions of motorists who were mis-sold a car loan will find out how they will be compensated, as the finance watchdog shares its final plans for an industry-wide scheme.

Final decisions on the long-awaited programme will be published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Monday afternoon.

The regulator set out draft plans last year but it is likely to make several changes after receiving more than 1,000 responses to its consultation.

Under the latest proposals, the scheme will cover car finance agreements taken out between April 6 2007 and November 1 2024.

The FCA estimated that around 14 million deals, or 44% of all those made since 2007, were unfair and therefore eligible for compensation.

Advertisement

Consumers were estimated to be compensated an average of £700 per agreement, but it will be more or less depending on individual cases.

This was expected to come at a total cost of £11 billion to the industry, including the total payouts and the operational costs of running the scheme.

Craig Tebbutt, a financial health expert for Equifax UK, said: “It has previously been estimated that average compensation levels could be in the region of £700 per agreement but the final details around the scale, scope and timelines are expected to be confirmed on Monday.

“However, there is nothing to stop consumers checking their paperwork now and getting their details ready in the meantime.”

He said research by the credit reporting firm found that “many consumers don’t know how to check their eligibility and expect the process to be a hassle, with old or missing paperwork being a real barrier”.

Advertisement

Equifax has launched a car finance checker within its new app that lets people see a list of their past agreements and copy the details, with motorists encouraged to send a complaint to their lender using a template on the FCA’s website if they think they’re eligible for a payout.

Lenders and car finance providers had been challenging the FCA’s proposals with some raising concerns that the expected amount of compensation is too high and does not accurately reflect what customers lost.

On the other side, some consumer groups and MPs have argued that many motorists will be short-changed under the current plans.

The FCA said millions of motorists could receive compensation in 2026 (Jacob King/PA) · Jacob King

The FCA has already announced some changes that it is making to the process since the proposals were unveiled last year.

This includes giving lenders more time to contact motor finance customers from when the scheme is officially launched.

Advertisement

But it is also aiming to streamline the process by allowing those due redress to accept it immediately without waiting for a final determination.

It thinks that this means million of people would receive compensation in 2026.

Continue Reading

Finance

Abacus Global CEO on record 2025 growth – ICYMI

Published

on

Abacus Global CEO on record 2025 growth – ICYMI
Abacus Global CEO on record 2025 growth – ICYMI Proactive uses images sourced from Shutterstock

Abacus Global Management (NYSE:ABX) earlier this week reported record-setting financial and operational performance for 2025, highlighting strong momentum in the rapidly expanding life settlements market.

CEO Jay Jackson said the company delivered more than 100% year-over-year growth across key financial metrics, including EBITDA, adjusted net income, and gross results. He emphasized that beyond headline figures, the underlying operational activity demonstrated the strength of the platform.

Jackson noted that Abacus acquired more than 1,300 life insurance policies during the year and generated nearly $180 million in realized gains. The company also sold over 1,000 policies, underscoring the liquidity and scalability of its model. He added that more than $600 million in capital was deployed, enabling over 1,100 seniors to access value from previously illiquid assets.

“We’re helping clients find liquidity in assets they didn’t know had it — their life insurance policies,” Jackson said.

Jackson explained that life insurance policies are increasingly being recognized as a viable financial asset class.

Advertisement

Looking ahead, Jackson pointed to a substantial growth runway, noting that the total addressable market is approximately $14 trillion, while Abacus has only penetrated a small fraction of that opportunity. He suggested that ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty is driving investor demand for uncorrelated assets, positioning life settlements as an attractive alternative.

As a key catalyst for future growth, the company recently completed a minority investment in Manning & Napier, a long-established wealth and asset management firm. Jackson said the partnership provides access to more than 3,400 retail clients, many of whom may not yet be aware of the liquidity potential within their life insurance holdings.

He indicated that this strategic relationship could enhance origination volumes and contribute to continued record performance into 2026.

“We’re one of the largest originators, and our record numbers are an indicator of what’s coming next,” he said.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Finance

New Funding Models Needed As Global Health Faces Growing Financial Strain – Health Policy Watch

Published

on

New Funding Models Needed As Global Health Faces Growing Financial Strain – Health Policy Watch
Christoph Benn (left) and Patrick Silborn

Global health is facing a funding crisis. Aid is shrinking, debt is rising, and the needs are only increasing. According to Christoph Benn of the Joep Lange Institute and Patrik Silborn of UNICEF Afghanistan, health systems will need to fundamentally rethink how they finance and sustain care.

On a recent episode of the Global Health Matters podcast, host Gary Aslanyan was joined by these two experts, who said “innovative finance” has become central to discussions on sustaining health systems.

Benn said that while the term is widely used, few agree on what it actually means. He described it as a “spectrum” of approaches, ranging from philanthropic grants and conditional funding to private-sector investment models that expect financial returns.

“It has frustrated us deeply that so many people are talking about innovative finance, but very few actually know what they’re talking about,” Benn said.

Advertisement

Silborn emphasised that these mechanisms should not be treated as one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, financing models must be designed around specific problems whether that means raising new funds, improving efficiency, or linking payments to measurable outcomes.

Drawing on his experience in Rwanda, Silborn described how a results-based funding model tied disbursements directly to performance, helping the country to maintain progress against major diseases despite reduced funding.

Both experts stressed that private-sector engagement requires a clear understanding of incentives.

“Private corporations are not charities,” Benn said. They can, however, contribute through marketing partnerships, technical expertise, or investment models that align financial returns with social outcomes.
Looking ahead, Benn pointed to targeted taxes and debt swaps as among the most scalable tools. Still, both warned that innovative finance is not a substitute for public responsibility.

“It only works when it is designed to solve real problems in specific contexts,” Benn said, underscoring that strong systems and governance remain essential to any lasting solution.

Advertisement

Listen to the full episode >>

Read more about Global Health Matters podcasts on Health Policy Watch >>

Image Credits: Global Health Matters podcast.

Combat the infodemic in health information and support health policy reporting from the global South. Our growing network of journalists in Africa, Asia, Geneva and New York connect the dots between regional realities and the big global debates, with evidence-based, open access news and analysis. To make a personal or organisational contribution click here.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending