Private Credit
How It Started,
Where It's Headed

Private credit as an asset class has become a central topic of discussion for investors of all sizes (and a frequent target of headlines). Many of the questions raised by investors take time to unpack and often benefit from some historical context.

This three-part series was developed by the Golub Capital Insights Team to address these questions directly by examining the forces shaping today's private credit market and their implications for investors.

The Birth of Sponsor Finance

Default Rates

A Short History of Sponsor Finance
The Evolution of Bank and Non-Bank Participation in Middle Market Lending

The rise of private credit is closely tied to the evolution of banking regulation over the last three decades. But regulation isn’t the whole story. This piece explains how non-bank lenders became central to private equity financing—and why we believe it’s unlikely banks can wind back the clock and reclaim their historic role.

Cov-Lite Loans

Crowded Market in Private Credit?
Enter the Large, Public Alternative Managers

Investors often ask whether the private credit market has gotten more crowded. We think it depends where you look. This piece details the recent outsized growth in direct lending funds that concentrate in the upper middle market, managed by a handful of large, publicly traded alternative managers who have little option but to “go big.”

Crowded Markets? It Depends

A Question of Size? Wrong Question

PIK Interest

Rethinking the Size Debate
Finding Value Across the Middle Market Spectrum

The debate over large market vs. lower middle market lending comes up often, but neither side has it exactly right. We believe the fixation on size misses the point. Strong credit investing comes down to identifying resilient businesses, maintaining strict documentation and pricing risk correctly—none of which has to do with check size.

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