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Lenders & Private Credit

2026 M&A Private Credit Study: Risk & Performance Metrics / AI & Private Credit

As private credit evolves, managers are sharpening risk oversight and embracing AI to enhance underwriting, portfolio management and operational efficiency—while keeping human judgment at the center of lending.
July 7, 2026
Demitri Diakantonis

As private credit matures, managers are paying closer attention to the factors that will determine long-term performance. Risk management, portfolio monitoring and operational efficiency have become just as important as sourcing attractive deals, while artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape how firms analyze opportunities and manage portfolios.

In our inaugural study on private credit, Mergers & Acquisitions surveyed leading professionals to gauge their views on the market’s evolution. The findings below are from over 20 questions we asked professionals about where the market is and where it is going, identify trends in areas such as the secondaries private credit market redemption requests concerns, and the industry’s view of artificial intelligence and the impact it’s likely to have.

We are running the study over two days:

  • July 6 – The Private Credit Market Outlook & Predictions
    • Characterizing of the current private credit market
    • Consensus beliefs about private credit believed to be wrong today
  • July 7 – Risk & Performance Metrics / AI & Private Credit
    • Whether or not redemption requests are a problem for the industry
    • What’s driving the secondary market in private credit and will it be a long-term trend
    • Whether AI will reduce the competitive advantages of large lending platforms