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Private credit in India has moved from niche to mainstream, and 2026 is the year it becomes a core part of the country’s funding stack—especially for stressed and structured deals where banks are pulling back.

India saw around USD 9 billion of private credit deals in H1 2025, a 53% year‑on‑year surge, driven by large refinancing and complex structured transactions.

Assets under management in India‑focused private debt funds jumped from USD 0.7 billion in 2010 to about USD 17.8 billion in 2023, making India one of APAC’s fastest‑growing private credit markets.

Reports project 25–30% annual growth in private credit value and volume, with India potentially accounting for up to 30% of APAC private credit fundraising by end‑2025.

This isn’t just more capital; it’s a structural shift in how Indian corporates think about leverage, speed, and flexibility.

Five latest trends shaping Private credit

1. From rescue capital to primary capital

Private credit is no longer only “last‑resort” distress money. Around 15–20% of recent private credit flows are going into growth, capacity expansion, and acquisition financing, not just workouts. Yet, stressed and special situations remain a core use case—especially where banks can’t or won’t lend under current prudential norms.

2. Bigger, more complex deals

Deal sizes have scaled up sharply, with multiple Indian transactions now exceeding USD 125–300+ million per borrower, including landmark structured financings for infrastructure, manufacturing, and large conglomerates. A single deal in 2025 (Shapoorji Pallonji group) accounted for over USD 3 billion of private credit, underscoring the market’s ability to support mega‑transactions.

3. Stressed assets + Performing credit converge

Traditionally, private credit in India focused on stressed and special situations, but the opportunity set now spans both stressed credit (high yield, complex risk) and performing credit (12–18% IRR). Sectors like manufacturing, real estate, and hotels account for about 65% of resolved stressed companies, and they are proving fertile ground for bespoke private credit structures.

4. Regulatory push: RBI’s ECL norms as a catalyst

The RBI’s proposed Expected Credit Loss (ECL) framework will force banks to provision earlier and more aggressively—especially for Stage 2 and Stage 3 (credit‑impaired) assets, where lifetime ECL and higher provisioning floors (up to 100% after 4 years) will apply. This is expected to:

Nudge banks to sell or syndicate stressed assets faster,

Create a larger pipeline of NPAs, SMA‑2 assets and special situations that are ideal for private credit solutions.

5. Sector focus: Real estate, infra and acquisition finance

Real estate‑linked private credit already accounts for more than one‑third of transaction value in India, with a rising share of deals tied to M&A and acquisition financing (roughly 35% of deals). Private lenders are filling gaps that banks can’t fill—like funding equity for acquisitions, providing last‑mile capital to complete projects, and supporting complex refinancing of leveraged corporates.

Where Credit Curators fits into this new private credit landscape

Against this backdrop, Credit Curators positions itself as a specialist curator of private credit in India’s stress and special‑situation markets, with a strong focus on NPAs, SMA accounts, and structured real‑asset funding.

Our core focus areas

NPA & SMA funding (SMA‑0/1/2): Liquidity for businesses flagged but not yet written off—preventing slippages into full‑blown NPAs.

Stressed‑asset & OTS funding: Capital to close one‑time settlements with banks and ARCs, enabling promoters to regain or retain control.

Acquisition & last‑mile real estate funding: Structured private credit for acquiring stressed projects, finishing stalled developments, or refinancing high‑cost exposure in realty and infra.

Project‑specific and sector‑agnostic solutions: Tailored term sheets for manufacturing, logistics, hospitality, renewables and more, aligned to cash‑flow realities and asset values.

How Credit Curators is different from typical lenders

We are curators, not just capital providers – we match businesses with the right structured credit, covenants and tenors for actual turnaround, not just short‑term plugging.

Faster execution – mandates typically move from assessment to funding in 7–14 working days, versus months under traditional bank processes.

Promoter‑sensitive structures – we emphasise structures that preserve or restore promoter control, rather than pure asset strip‑outs.

Regulatory‑aware design – every structure is built with RBI, SEBI and IBBI norms in mind, including alignment with evolving ECL expectations and stressed‑asset frameworks.

What this means for borrowers in 2026

If you are a mid‑market corporate, developer, or promoter facing stress, the 2026 environment is very different from the last NPA cycle:

Banks are better capitalised but more conservative, especially with ECL‑driven provisioning.

Private credit funds (domestic and global) have both the capital and the appetite to underwrite complex risk at 12–22% yields.

Well‑advised borrowers can now use curated private credit to:

*Avoid or exit IBC, *Close OTS deals on time, *Refinance expensive or rigid bank exposure, *Complete projects and unlock cash flows, rather than liquidating at the bottom of the cycle.