Private credit firms are expanding into more complex products and structures faster than their teams’ skills can keep up, according to new research from the Global Institute of Credit Professionals (GICP). The result is a two-speed market. Firms that pair strong fundamentals with deeper structuring, execution and data capability are well placed to scale. Those relying on traditional strengths risk falling behind.

The report, ‘Private Credit Capability Under Pressure’, surveyed around 100 private credit professionals on their teams’ capability across the credit lifecycle. Just 43.5% rated their teams’ capabilities as ‘strong’ or ‘leading’ across the skills assessed. Confidence is lower again for specialist products such as NAV financing, private ABS, mezzanine and unitranche, the more complex structures that firms are increasingly moving into.

Current strengths are fragile. Even the strongest skills are far from secure. Financial modelling, the highest-rated skill, scores just 2.67 out of 4 on the report’s capability index, and AI/LLM literacy scores lowest at 2.08. No skill reaches the top level.

There are no safe gaps. Some of the skills practitioners consider most important to success are among their weakest. Risk management, structuring and deal sourcing are all rated critical, yet all score below the median capability of 2.42. Almost every stage of the credit lifecycle now matters strategically, so the report concludes that firms can no longer afford weak spots.

The biggest opportunities sit in the weakest areas. Practitioners see the greatest potential in modelling and scenario analysis, continuous portfolio monitoring and data-led decision-making. Yet the report finds these are the areas where readiness is weakest. Readiness is stronger in areas seen as less critical, such as workflow automation.

What this means for private credit. The report identifies four risks for firms that fail to close the gap:

• Capability risk: teams struggle to scale safely into more complex products and higher deal volumes.
• Execution risk: little margin for error, leading to bottlenecks, rework and inconsistent outcomes.
• Loss risk: weaker analytical capability makes preventable errors and losses more likely.
• Competitive risk: firms slower to adopt data and AI fall behind more automated peers.

Andreas Karaiskos, Executive Director of the Global Institute of Credit Professionals, said: “Private credit is becoming a two-speed market. Firms that pair strong fundamentals with deeper execution, structuring and data capability will have the edge. Those relying on traditional strengths alone are likely to feel the strain, and carry the risk, as complexity rises.

“Capability gaps are not simply a training issue. They are a business and risk issue, affecting execution quality, portfolio monitoring and decision-making. The next phase of private credit growth will depend not only on access to capital, but on whether firms can build the expertise needed to deploy and manage that capital effectively.”

Closing these gaps is not straightforward. Respondents cited budget constraints (42%), limited availability of suitable training (41%) and the difficulty of taking professionals away from day-to-day work (33%) as the main barriers. Practitioners stressed the value of development grounded in real transactions and repeated exposure to complex credit work.

As private credit matures, the report concludes that the firms best placed to scale, without scaling their risk alongside it, will be those that close the gap between what their growth demands and what their teams can deliver today.

Download ‘Private Credit Capability Under Pressure’