Australian Private Credit Lender Freezes Three Funds After Audit Dispute

SYDNEY, Australia, September 28, 2026, ZEX PR WIRE — Metrics Credit Partners suspended trading in three ASX listed funds after auditors disagreed with assumptions used in preliminary financial reports.

The decision means investors in the affected funds cannot currently trade their units on the Australian Securities Exchange while the valuation issues are reviewed.

The lender also said the funds’ asset values would be marked down following the audit process. The development puts renewed attention on how private credit investments are valued, particularly when the underlying loans are not traded frequently in public markets.

Private credit funds typically provide loans directly to businesses and other borrowers rather than through traditional syndicated bank lending or public bond markets. Their assets can therefore be less liquid than publicly traded securities.

Private Credit Has Expanded Rapidly

Private credit has grown significantly as companies have increasingly turned to non bank lenders for financing.

The sector has attracted capital from institutional investors seeking income generating assets at a time when traditional fixed income markets have faced changing interest rate conditions.

However, the growth of private credit has also increased questions surrounding transparency, valuation and liquidity.

Unlike shares or government bonds, many private loans do not have an observable market price every day. Fund managers therefore rely on models and assumptions to determine the value of those assets.

That can create challenges when economic conditions change or when auditors disagree with the assumptions used.

Valuation Becomes a Key Issue

The situation at Metrics highlights why valuation is particularly important for listed private credit funds.

If the value assigned to underlying loans is revised lower, the net asset value of a fund can decline even when the loans themselves have not been sold.

Investors therefore have to consider not only whether borrowers are making their scheduled payments, but also how the lender assesses the value and risk of the underlying portfolio.

The suspension also illustrates the liquidity mismatch that can emerge when investment vehicles provide investors with the ability to trade while holding assets that may take considerably longer to sell.

Australian Market Watches Private Lending

The development comes as Australia’s private credit industry has become a larger part of the country’s financial system.

Banks have traditionally dominated business lending, but private lenders have expanded into areas including property finance, corporate lending and other forms of credit.

The sector’s expansion has attracted attention from investors as well as financial authorities because problems within private credit portfolios can become more difficult to identify when assets are privately negotiated and infrequently traded.

The Metrics situation does not by itself establish broader problems across Australia’s private credit market. However, the fund suspensions demonstrate the importance of independent valuation and transparent reporting as the sector grows.

What Investors Will Watch Next

The immediate focus will be on the revised valuations of the three funds and the outcome of the audit process.

Investors will also be watching whether the suspensions remain limited to the affected funds or whether the episode prompts broader scrutiny of valuation practices across Australia’s listed private credit sector.

The episode arrives during a period when global financial markets are already dealing with elevated bond yields and changing expectations around interest rates. Higher borrowing costs can affect both the ability of borrowers to service debt and the valuation of credit assets.

For Australia’s private credit market, the latest development places the focus firmly on one of its most important challenges: balancing the demand for higher yielding private loans with the need for transparent valuations and sufficient liquidity for investors.