The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is “carefully monitoring” fraud and manipulation in the private credit industry amid a rise in default rates, SEC Chair Paul Atkins said Monday at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles. […]
There have been recent signs of stress in the roughly $2 trillion private credit market, with rising default rates at major private credit funds. Many large creditors defaulted on their debts in the past year, according to an analysis by JPMorgan Asset Management, and accounting fraud has been alleged in many of those cases.
Overall, businesses that borrowed from private credit defaulted at a record 9.5% rate in 2025, according to credit rating firm Fitch Ratings.
The growing risk to private credit comes amid the Trump administration’s push to increase investment in private markets. In March, Treasury released its proposed rule to “democratize” access to private markets in 401(k) retirement plans, following an executive order by President Donald Trump.
Source: SEC Monitoring Fraud Risks in Private Credit as Defaults Rise, Atkins Says | Law.com
