The role of the sell side and buy side has for the longest time been well defined, self-explanatory even. But today those distinctions are less clear.

Buysiders routinely originate private credit financings and can syndicate them out to a broader club of like-minded credit funds, and banks such as JP Morgan are leaning into direct lending.

The lines are increasingly blurry and private credit has been at the epicentre of this change. While the change has been focused on LevFin, it’s coming to investment grade too.

Below the surface lies an IG market where an evolution is taking place, with some credit funds providing private credit financing to large corporates, or structuring bespoke financings rated triple-B or above.

But will IG bankers feel the same fierce competition from private credit that their LevFin counterparts know well?