Franklin Templeton’s CEO Sees Fed Stoking Private Credit Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Private credit will keep stepping up as the banking system — stung by the pace of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate hikes — pulls back on lending, said Jenny Johnson, president and chief executive officer at Franklin Templeton.

“The pace at which these rate hikes have happened has caused stress in the banking system,” she said on the sidelines of the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills. “You're going to see even more of a retrenchment — that's where private credit has stepped in and will continue to step in.”

Franklin Templeton has about $80 billion in private credit, driven by rising client demand and as companies opt to stay private for longer, Johnson said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. 

She spoke shortly before the Fed's Wednesday decision, in which the central bank hiked interest rates by a quarter point and hinted at the end of the tightening cycle. Johnson expected the increase, saying that the hike would likely be followed by a pause. 

“There's a risk that the banks aren't going to keep lending in the same way that they were lending,” she said. “That's gonna be covered by the private markets. The question is if you are a mid-sized company, can you get access to markets?”

--With assistance from Romaine Bostick.

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