Oct 28, 2026 · 27 min
Non-bank lenders target Australia’s business funding gap
Private Credit Explained: How Aura is helping close the $250bn Funding Gap
As banks retreat from parts of business lending, private-credit managers must balance unmet demand with liquidity, diversification and disciplined risk selection.
- 1Private credit expanded after the global financial crisis as tighter bank capital rules reduced lending capacity.
- 2Aura lends through selected platforms across receivables, asset finance, property-backed loans and agriculture rather than concentrating on development lending.
- 3Liquidity mismatches and weak manager selection can turn otherwise diversified private-credit portfolios into difficult-to-exit investments.
Don't miss
Brett Craig explains how invoice repayments can create natural liquidity, contrasting them with long-dated property-development loans vulnerable to fund gating.
The brief
Brett Craig joins Adam and Adir to explain how private credit grew after the global financial crisis, when tighter bank capital rules left more businesses seeking non-bank finance.
Aura’s model is to lend to selected lending platforms rather than directly chase every borrower, supporting receivables, asset finance, property-backed loans and agricultural lending.
The conversation separates diversified, short-duration lending from property-development funds whose long loan terms can clash with investors’ redemption rights and trigger fund gating.
Craig describes invoice finance as a source of natural liquidity: businesses receive cash against receivables while specialist lenders fill gaps left by retreating banks.
The episode’s central lesson is that private-credit outcomes depend less on the label than on collateral, diversification, manager selection and risk-adjusted returns through the cycle.
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