Billion-dollar property collapse highlights private credit danger | The Business | ABC NEWS

Liquidators will attempt to unravel the mystery behind a former hospitality baron's incredible rise and spectacular fall later this week when they begin examinations in the Federal Court. Jon Adgemis managed to accrue $1.8 billion in debt.

It's expected the role of private credit - or non-bank lenders - will be cast into the spotlight, and highlight growing risks facing the economy.

Chief business correspondent Ian Verrender joined The Business to explain those risks. He says private credit is highly unregulated "and that's the problem, because we don't know where the problems are."
"There's a lack of transparency here both from the point of view of the banking system as a whole - and that's what the Reserve Bank is worried about, the financial system - but if you're a lender into this, if you put money into one of these private credit funds, you don't really know exactly who you're lending to."

The Australian property market appears to be on the cusp of a prolonged downturn, the first since 2017.
That is likely to plunge property developers - the group that overwhelmingly relies upon non-bank loans - into a world of pain that could ripple through to builders and subcontractors. Marketed with limited regulatory oversight, the industry has attracted cash from retirees and investors seeking high returns in what many mistakenly believe are safe mortgages.

It follows warnings from Australia's corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), about the dangers building within this largely unregulated arena.
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