Bank lending's next act: Competing and working with private credit

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White Paper Bank lending's next act: Competing and working with private credit

| Updated March 02, 2026, 9:16 a.m. EST

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Private credit didn’t take over. But it did raise the bar. Slow approvals, rigid structures, and fragmented client experiences handed deals to nonbank lenders that banks should have won.

Conditions have shifted. C&I lending is accelerating. Capital rules softened. Bond markets reopened. And private credit funds are sitting on $280B in dry powder they need to deploy, competing harder than ever for the same borrowers.

This PwC report gives senior lending leaders a clear read on what to do next:

Where banks are winning share back and where private credit still has the edge on speed and flexibility
The hybrid playbook: compete directly, partner selectively, finance the ecosystem
Why lending to private credit funds and BDCs can generate higher returns on capital
What to fix in underwriting, automation, and client experience to close the speed gap
The operating model decisions that protect relationship economics

At stake: $70B+ in annualized corporate lending revenue and the chance to refinance $3.2T in debt maturing in 2026-2027.

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