May 18 (Reuters) - U.S. banking giant Citigroup and BlackRock's HPS Investment Partners have partnered on a 15 billion euro ($17.48 billion) private credit program to expand direct lending across the EMEA region, the companies said on Monday.
Under the partnership, Citi will leverage its capabilities to source investment opportunities for the program, which will target borrowers with businesses based in Continental Europe, the UK and, eventually, the Middle East.
The tie-up with HPS is aimed at meeting
increasing demand from Citi's corporate and sponsor clients for tailored private credit offerings, John McAuley, Citi's co-head of debt capital markets, said.
The program aims to finance opportunities across a broad range of sub-investment grade debt instruments in EMEA over an initial five-year term.
The collaboration underscores the growing alliance between banks and investment firms looking to expand their presence in the multi-trillion-dollar private credit market, which has come under intense scrutiny in recent months against a backdrop of a negative headlines.
Despite the scrutiny around the asset class, institutional investors are showing renewed interest in direct lending, an area of private credit facing the most scrutiny.
The announcement also comes roughly two years after Citi partnered with Apollo Global in 2024 for a $25 billion private credit and direct lending program.
($1 = 0.8583 euros)
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
