$360 Billion: Canada's Private Credit Exposure Soars Overseas

Canadian financial institutions and investment funds have amassed around $360 billion in private credit exposure, mostly linked to borrowers and funds outside of Canada.

A report by Bloomberg citing new research from the Bank of Canada highlights the growing role of Canadian pension funds and insurers in global private lending, particularly in the US. According to the central bank's analysis, Canadian pension funds held approximately $215 billion in private credit at the end of 2025, equivalent to around 9% of their invested assets.

The country's three biggest life insurers held slightly more than $200 billion in private credit during the first quarter of 2026, representing about 22% of their invested assets. The Bank of Canada noted that non-bank lending accounts for about 15% of the credit liabilities of Canadian private non-financial companies, a proportion that has remained broadly unchanged for the past decade.

The picture is different in the US, where private credit managers have increasingly competed with banks and syndicated loan markets to finance leveraged buyouts and other corporate transactions. Canadian investment funds held around $54 billion in private credit in 2025, up more than 60% from 2020, although the central bank said its estimate is likely to understate the true figure.