For a few years, private credit fundraising records being broken was a matter of routine. But in 2021 that stopped. And this year’s progress shows the market is unlikely to reach such heights anytime soon.

Direct lending funds worldwide raised $33.1bn from the beginning of January to the end of May — less than a third of the sum raised in the first half of 2023, according to Preqin.

Direct lenders raised $210bn in all of 2023, down from $215bn in 2022, and $242bn in 2021, which was the record aggregate amount raised for the market. Until then the arrow went up and to the right. But that has reversed.