Private Credit Default Rates: 1%, 6%, or 19%, Depending on Whom You Ask

For the same private credit default rate, Fitch reports 6.3%, Pimco estimates as high as 19%, while Houlihan Lokey puts it at under 1%. One reason is the lack of a unified statistical standard in the private credit market, with Pimco's calculation including debt serviced through "borrowing new debt to pay interest." Additionally, information disclosure levels between lenders and borrowers in private credit are far lower than those of comparable institutions in public markets, resulting in poor data availability.