When private credit and business development companies (BDCs) entered the picture in 2008 as traditional banks curtailed lending during the great financial crisis, investors and the media had limited understanding of this emerging asset class. So, our first assignment was to help our BDC and private credit clients create basic fact sheets on “What is Direct Lending?” or “What is a BDC?” We also relentlessly pitched bank reporters, hoping they would consider adding BDCs to their coverage, but were frequently told they were not interested in “shadow banking.”
Fast forward to 2024, and executives from some of the biggest names in private credit are regularly featured on top business news networks.