The speed dial on the growth of Europe’s non-bank lenders just got turned up a notch. Private credit funds raised more money in the first half of this year than the whole of 2016. Funds specialising in direct lending, worth next to nothing a decade ago, already by the end of last year managed assets of $42 billion, with a further $25 billion to put to work, says Preqin, a data provider. Their assets have grown more than seven-fold since 2012.

To policymakers, the sector is the acceptable face