Abstract

Private credit has grown rapidly internationally and has become an increasingly important source of corporate financing outside the banking system. The growth has been supported by investors’ search for yield, tighter bank regulation and increased demand for flexible financing solutions. In Norway, the market remains small, but activity has picked up in recent years, particularly through lending from foreign funds. In this staff memo, we identify approximately 35 private credit transactions involving Norwegian firms between 2017 and 2025. New lending reached just under NOK 20 billion in 2025, still a small share of total annual corporate borrowing. While the market remains modest in scale, upcoming regulatory changes and rapid international growth — combined with data gaps, limited transparency and evolving market structures — warrant closer monitoring.