<div class="css-105lg8x e3mhczn0"><div class="css-z41hwl e1a1lgff0"><section class="css-l6lqlh ed1lw9e0"><div class="css-1nbyogb e195wpn30"><span class="css-xidzag e1b9gwda0"><a href="/special-report" data-analytics="sidebar:section"><span>Special report</span></a></span><span class="css-z3012 e17k1v3f0"> | Private lending</span></div><h1 class="css-1ugm8pm e1c1hwj10">The debt barons who are taking on the banks</h1><h2 class="css-1fxcbca e6h2z500">Private-credit funds are courting borrowers of all sorts. Regulators are sceptical </h2></section></div></div>

<div class="css-1uuz26i e3mhczn0"><div class="css-z41hwl e1a1lgff0"><div class="css-1tgongu e384ba00"><div class="css-1lub2ht ejcadny0"><div class="css-shlg5w e1fggjs20"><div class="css-z11z87 e5z0ibw0"><div><time datetime="2025-05-23T14:27:53.413Z" class="css-1rlefqb e1t74fno0"> May 23rd 2025</time></div><div><div class="css-17do188 e5z0ibw0"></div></div></div></div></div><section class="css-dxwvlf efq1yh20"><div class="css-p6fe6o efq1yh21"><p data-component="paragraph" class="css-1l5amll e1y9q0ei0"><span data-caps="initial">N</span><small>o dead</small> <small>institution</small> looms larger over the financial system than Drexel Burnham Lambert. The investment bank, which collapsed in 1990, is to today’s Wall Street what PayPal was to present-day Silicon Valley: an incubator for young hot shots who went on to shape an industry. Whereas those from the payments firm would start SpaceX, LinkedIn and YouTube, Drexel alumni founded Apollo, Ares and Cerberus, and firms that later became the credit divisions of Bain Capital and Blackstone.</p></div></section><div class="css-v7aorn em0l2j50"><div class="css-9ejc71 e1fggjs20"><div class="css-yb4x8x e5z0ibw0"><div><div class="css-1j1j36d e5z0ibw0"><a href="https://s100.copyright.com/AppDispatchServlet?publisherName=economist&amp;publication=economist&amp;title=The%20debt%20barons%20who%20are%20taking%20on%20the%20banks&amp;publicationDate=2025-05-23&amp;contentID=%2Fcontent%2Ffk2q9m3itbdn1g52pd0cj5cuhvv5k3ft&amp;type=SR&amp;orderBeanReset=TRUE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" data-analytics="end_of_article:reuse_this_content" class="button_mb-button__seg6h button_mb-button--secondary__B_8oH button_mb-button--small__bwC29 button_mb-button--outline__8HZoJ button_mb-button--text-icon__N_J2S"><span>Reuse this content</span></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>

Private-credit funds are courting borrowers of all sorts. Regulators are sceptical {ai:summary}<p>Private credit funds are increasingly attracting a diverse range of borrowers, raising concerns among regulators. The legacy of Drexel Burnham Lambert, which collapsed in 1990, continues to influence today's financial landscape, with its alumni founding major firms like Apollo and Ares. </p><p>#economy</p>

The debt barons who are taking on the banks

The debt barons who are taking on the banks

Private-credit funds are courting borrowers of all sorts. Regulators are sceptical

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