As risks quietly build across the $3 trillion private credit market, Jamie Dimon is warning that the next downturn could expose weaker lenders—though regulators say the fallout is unlikely to threaten the broader financial system.

The JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) CEO, in a letter to shareholders, wrote that "it's always been true that not everyone providing credit is necessarily good at it," when speaking about the current private credit environment.

"There are many players who are late to this game, and it should be expected that some credit providers will do a far worse job than others. We have not had a credit recession in a long time, and it seems that some people assume it will never happen," Dimon said.

When we hit the next credit cycle, losses on all leveraged lending will be higher than expected, he argued. Why? Blame weaker credit standards and covenants, coupled with more aggressive add-backs and the increased use of payment-in-kind (PIK) structures.

In the grand scheme of things, private credit probably does not present a systemic risk, Dimon continued.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell issued a similar sentiment during a talk at Harvard University last week.

“I'm reluctant to say anything that suggests we're dismissive of the risk, but we're looking for connections to the banking system and things that might result in contagion. We don't see that right now,” he said. “What we see is a correction going on, and certainly they'll be people losing money and things like that, but it doesn't seem to have the makings of a broader systemic event.”

The $3 trillion private credit industry is a "relatively small slice” of the asset pool and is something that the Fed is watching “super carefully,” Powell added.

What About Private Equity?

Dimon argues that if credit spreads widen further, companies that have borrowed will have to do so at higher rates, putting them under more stress.

"It should be expected that at some point insurance regulators will insist on more rigorous ratings or market downs, which will likely lead to more demands for capital," Dimon added.

On the topic of private equity, Dimon noted that private equity firms have not taken "greater advantage" of healthy markets to take their companies public. 

Private equity firms now own roughly 13,000 companies, with the average hold period stretching to about seven years, nearly double historical norms. Dimon noted that the market has seen "nothing but a bull market since the great financial crisis."

"It's hard to imagine what will happen if and when we have an extended bear market," he remarked.

Some of the other larger risks noted were the geopolitical environment, high global sovereign deficits and debt, high asset prices and very low credit spreads, U.S.-China relations, tariffs, and cyber risks.

AI Will Deliver: Dimon

"The investment in AI is not a speculative bubble, it will deliver significant benefits," Dimon stated. The bank boss expects that AI and technological advancements will have a positive impact on productivity and the world going forward.

"I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that AI will cure some cancers, create new composites, and reduce accidental deaths, among other positive outcomes. It will eventually reduce the workweek in the developed world. And people will live longer and safer," Dimon wrote.

As AI becomes more advanced, it will also introduce serious new risks, such as deepfakes and misinformation, to cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

RFA CRO George Ralph recently spoke about the cybersecurity impacts artificial intelligence may have on the financial services industry.

Advancements in AI are lowering barriers to entry for hacking, as less-skilled individuals can now execute more sophisticated cyberattacks than in the past.

“Hackers before had a specific skill, and now AI helps everyone have that skill. There are more entry points in terms of human error, bad leavers. There’s lower skilled threat actors who can use prompt AI to help them work out how to do malicious code or feed errors back into AI,” Ralph said during an interview.

Dimon also noted that the technological shift will impact many sectors, including physical industries and scientific research, and while it will also eliminate jobs, it will enhance others.

"Our ongoing success will be based on our ability to wisely invest and move very quickly and nimbly, especially around product design and rollout, including incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) in everything we do," Dimon said.

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