A new wave of opportunity seems set to flow into private credit markets, which could enhance risk-adjusted returns and diversify portfolios.

Citi and Apollo will handle loan portfolio with capital from insurance annuity company Athene and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co.

(Reuters) - Citigroup and Apollo Global have partnered for a $25 billion private credit and direct lending program, illustrating a growing alliance between banks and non-banks looking for a slice of the lucrative $2 trillion market.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) are joining forces to form a landmark $25B private credit, direct lending program initially in North America, the Wall Street heavyweights said Thursday.

Citigroup and Apollo Global Management are teaming up in the fast-growing private credit market, agreeing to work together on $25 billion worth of deals over the next five years. The two Wall Street heavyweights have struck an exclusive partnership to arrange financings for corporate and private equity clients,

Join FStech editor Jonathan Easton, NICE Actimize's Adam McLaughlin and Graham Mackenzie of the Law Society of Scotland as they look at the role Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) play in the financial sector, and the challenges they face in complying with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations.

Zelter joined Apollo in 2006 after more than a decade at Citigroup, where he had once served as the chief investment officer of a division that invested in private assets. Before that, he oversaw the bank’s global high-yield and leveraged finance business. Citigroup is a frequent underwriter of debt deals for Apollo’s private equity business.

The program can expand to more geographies and stretch beyond the US$25 billion target. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The once-frosty relationship between private lenders and banks is thawing, as evidenced most recently by Apollo Global Management Inc.'s $25 billion venture with Citigroup Inc., Bloomberg's Sonali Basak says.