JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon has warned that losses for lenders to highly indebted companies will be higher than many expect because of weakening lending standards, as concerns grow around the health of the $1.8tn private credit industry.
This type of non-bank lending has grown rapidly in the past decade as regulation has driven banks such as JPMorgan out of some parts of the lending market.
“I do believe that when we have a credit cycle, which will happen one day, losses on all leveraged lending in general will be higher than expected, relative to the environment,” Dimon wrote in his annual letter to shareholders, referring to lending to companies with a high level of debt relative to their earnings.