(17 November 2025 – Australia) Exclusive research by East & Partners and Capital Brief has found that private credit take up by corporates is surging, despite growing regulatory scrutiny of the sector.
Exclusive research between East & Partners and Capital Brief on private credit found that 46 percent of Australian corporates with turnover greater than A$725 million had either sourced funding through private credit or planned to do so. That is up from 39 percent in May and 28 percent in October 2024.
There has been a sharp increase in the number of large corporates that are sourcing funding through private credit despite being discouraged by regulatory scrutiny around the sector according to the latest Private Credit Barometer. Last week, the corporate regulator ASIC flagged that private credit would be a top priority in 2026.
Private credit accounted for 8.6 percent of total funding for corporates that were using it and this was expected to increase to 14.3 percent in 12 months’ time.
“This is a significant shift in the openness to the asset class. The increase in knowledge about private credit along with the fact it opens access to funding sources are key reasons for growing uptake. For the upper commercial market, the flexibility in terms of covenants is one of the most appealing aspects” commented East & Partners Global Head of Markets Analysis, Martin Smith.
“While corporates are concerned about the regulator they are sitting on their hands to an extent given many do not have specific risk management frameworks in place albeit the way corporates manage their private credit risk would be similar across all forms of debt” Smith added.
Read the full article here on Capital Brief: Australia’s top corporates eye private credit funding despite ASIC probe
About the Private Credit Barometer
Capital Brief and East & Partners have launched an exclusive, ongoing research series creating a barometer for private credit and M&A activities across corporate Australia. The research will be published quarterly drawn from East’s four decades of research into the complex and dynamic B2B financial services and banking markets.
“Our partnership with East & Partners takes Capital Brief forward into bespoke research explicitly designed around the interests of our subscribers. It’s an excellent match between East’s tested research and Capital Brief’s commitment to distinctive, valuable journalism,” said Capital Brief editor in chief John McDuling.
East conducts 76,800+ direct annual interviews and fieldwork with decision-makers responsible for their business’ banking relationships globally to ensure accurate and verifiable intelligence. The research encompasses all business segments from Micro businesses with an annual turnover of $1–5 million through to large corporates with annual turnovers of $725 million plus. This Barometer series is based on direct interviews with the Top 100 revenue ranked corporates in Australia.