欧洲私人信贷的下一步行动

Why infrastructure and asset-basedfinanceare infocus Why read thisreport? Private credit players are looking to catch the next wave of growth — in asset-basedlendingin Europe. Globally, asset-based financing has been the largest source of private credit industrygrowth recently: our new estimates are that assets under management at leading firms were Investors we meet are also increasingly intrigued by private credit in Europe: There was a 40%rise in private credit fundraising in the UK and continental Europe in 2025 according to Preqin, Our new estimates suggest asset-based finance is a €4.2 trillion category in Europe today,rivaling the US. Yet non-banks hold just 13% of the total, less than half of the 34% share in theUS. What’s more, Europe looks set for several trillion euros of spending on digital and energyinfrastructure. Meeting that demand will require funding from every corner of the financial Regulatory hurdles in securitization and Solvency II have limited the buildout of insurancebuyers in the EU thus far, but changes in UK regulation and planned recalibration in the EU will There has been a flurry of bank and private credit origination partnerships, particularly forinfrastructure, reflecting the bank-led system and Europe’s many distinct, country-levelmarkets. We explore how private credit 2.0 is playing out in Europe: the sub-sectors growing the fastest,the shifting regulations that will shape it, and the emerging bank and non-bank partnerships. AUTHORS Contents Europe’s AI ambitions arerunning into a capital markets Europe’s ambitions to build out artificial intelligence, data center, and energyinfrastructureare colliding with an awkward — and familiar — financing reality: the continent lacks the depth The challenge is formidable. Europe may need to invest €3 trillion over the next fiveyearsin digital and energy infrastructure, according to EU estimates — and before defense andnational security. Meeting that demand will require funding from every corner of the financial The base case is uncomfortable: Europe’s gap relative to the US continues to widen. But atrioof developments — a pivot by private credit firms, regulatory recalibration, and renewedinternational investor interest — could help shift the balance in favor of investors financing Europe’s difficulty is not a lack of savings. The failure is in financial plumbing, bureaucraticregulation, and risk appetite. Europe’s banks are in their strongest shape in decades yet remainill-suited to finance assets with very long duration. Meanwhile European insurers are hemmed Nowhere is the financing problem clearer than the securitization market, which is a naturalhome for data center funding. Europe’s pipes are badly clogged. Since 2018,securitizationof US data center debt has totaled $63.6 billion, according to JPMorgan — $27 billion of thatin 2025. The EU has managed just $0.8 billion. Investors expect data centers to be the largest If Europe cannot fund even these strategic assets at scale, it is hard to see how it can keeppace more broadly. A key part of the problem is that insurers — the natural buyers of seniorsecuritized tranches — have been straitjacketed by Solvency II capital rules that came into effectin 2016. European life insurers currently hold just 0.4% of their portfolios in securitizations, Life insurer securitized asset % of total invested assets, Q42024 There are tentative signs of regulatory movement. Brussels is reviewing aspects of securitizationand insurance rules, and several member states are pushing for more flexibility to financeenergy transition and digital assets. None of this is yet settled, and the current proposals still The scale of infrastructure financing will call for private credit to be part of the solution. Leadingprivate credit firms were already pivoting away from mid-market and buyout loans towardfinancing the kind of hard assets needed for data centers, grid upgrades, or renewable energy. This is accelerating a quiet reshaping of Europe’s infrastructure funding model. Banks andprivate credit funds are starting to partner to originate and syndicate risk. Expect these Banks will also look to recycle their capital to unlock lending capacity beyond infrastructure.Asset-backed lending is a €4.2 trillion market in Europe, with over three-quarters of itheldon bank balance sheets, according toOliver Wymanestimates. Some of these assets fitwell None of this will be risk-free. It is hard to imagine Europe deploying several trillioneurosof capital without some mishaps. But policymakers need to be clear-headed that if theexposures are broadly diversified among investors, it will be far less risky than if concentratedjust on banks’ balance sheets. Alternatively, failing to fund the investment will hold back Europe cannot deliver on its AI, energy, and industrial ambitions without deeper and morerobust capital markets. For investors able to supply long-dated capital, the prize lies infinancing,