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Citi, BlackRock’s HPS Launch €15B EMEA Private Credit Program

5/18/2026

Summary

Citi, BlackRock Launch

Citigroup and BlackRock’s HPS Investment Partners announced a €15 billion private-credit programme.
It will target borrowers in Continental Europe, the United Kingdom and later the Middle East.
John McAuley, Citi’s co-head of debt capital markets, said the tie-up meets growing demand for private-credit solutions.
The programme will finance sub-investment-grade debt in EMEA, following Citi’s 2024 $25 billion partnership with Apollo Global.

Summary

Bank of England Warns

The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee warned that private-credit expansion may pose systemic risk and ordered stress-tests.
The Prudential Regulation Authority began probing banks’ private-equity exposures because aggregating risks is difficult.
BlackRock bought HPS for $12 billion in mid-2025, lifting its private-credit assets above $220 billion as European private-credit AUM reached €400 billion.
The Citi-HPS transaction shows the “originate-to-distribute” model that moves credit risk to asset managers while banks retain fee income.

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Citi, BlackRock Launch

Citigroup and BlackRock’s HPS Investment Partners announced a €15 billion private-credit programme.
It will target borrowers in Continental Europe, the United Kingdom and later the Middle East.
John McAuley, Citi’s co-head of debt capital markets, said the tie-up meets growing demand for private-credit solutions.
The programme will finance sub-investment-grade debt in EMEA, following Citi’s 2024 $25 billion partnership with Apollo Global.

1 / 2