How big is the private credit market, and why is it growing?

How to answer

Global private credit reached roughly $3.5 trillion in AUM at the end of 2024 (per the AIMA/ACC 'Financing the Economy' report), and forecasts such as Morgan Stanley's see it growing toward about $5 trillion by 2029. Growth comes from banks pulling back from leveraged lending under tighter capital rules, sponsors valuing the speed and certainty of execution a single private lender offers, and institutional LPs reaching for the illiquidity premium and floating-rate yield. Quote it as an approximate, date-stamped range — definitions vary by source (direct lending only vs. all private credit), so figures differ.

Key idea: ~$3.5T end-2024, ~$5T by ~2029; bank retreat + speed/certainty + LP yield demand.