‘It’s the Wild West’: Why ASIC is worried about private credit

Private credit firms are scrambling to manage problem loans, as the regulator sets its sights on lax governance and industry conflicts.

High rates and rising construction costs have exposed troubled loans in the private credit sector. Bethany Rae

Primrose RiordanAssociate editor

Mar 1, 2025 – 5.00am

Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

Subscribe to gift this article

Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.

Subscribe now

Already a subscriber?

There’s one deal in the booming private credit world that epitomises the troubles facing the sector and its name, ironically, is Halo.

Merricks Capital, the non-bank lender recently acquired by Phil King’s Regal Partners, arranged a loan worth nearly half a billion dollars for a proposed 55-storey tower in Sydney’s CBD in early 2023.

Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

Subscribe to gift this article

Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.

Subscribe now

Already a subscriber?

License article

Introducing your Newsfeed

Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.

Find out more

Primrose RiordanAssociate editorPrimrose Riordan covers private companies and family offices from the AFR's Sydney newsroom. Primrose was previously a correspondent for the Financial Times and covered foreign affairs and politics in Canberra. Primrose has won multiple awards for her journalism including from The National Press Club, SABEW in the US and Press Gazette in the UK. Message Primrose on Signal: https://tinyurl.com/PrimroseSignal