How Private Credit Is Turning Corporate Treasurers Into Data Vendors

Credit quality has long determined who receives funding and who does not. However, information quality is now playing a similar role in corporate borrowing and working capital. As private credit becomes a larger source of corporate capital, lenders can negotiate for ongoing access to detailed financial data that public investors typically cannot obtain.

This includes cash forecasts, customer payment behavior, borrowing base data, collateral performance and liquidity positions, all of which are moving beyond internal management tools and becoming inputs into ongoing underwriting relationships.

This shift changes the financing equation for the chief financial officer (CFO). A company capable of providing trustworthy, granular and current financial information can potentially give lenders greater confidence in the company's financial condition between reporting periods. On the other hand, if a company cannot deliver such information, it may leave creditors with underwriting uncertainty.

The timing of this shift is also significant, as stress is becoming harder to ignore in certain areas of private credit. Recent reports indicate rising defaults, asset markdowns and investor outflows, with the U.S. private credit default rate reaching 6.1% in the latest month.

When lenders' own investors begin questioning the quality of their portfolios, lenders naturally want to see borrowers perform better first. Private credit operates differently from public markets. While public company reporting is standardized, private lenders can negotiate for more information rights as part of financing relationships.

This can provide a much closer view of a borrower's operating condition than periodic public reporting offers. This shift could lead to less frequent or less uniform public reporting, alongside the increasing demand for more frequent and bespoke information from private capital providers.

The result may not necessarily be less transparency overall, but rather a segmentation of transparency based on the audience. According to PYMNTS Intelligence data, 80% of middle-market firms using external working capital solutions have freed an average of $19 million in 2025, money that is redirected towards supplier relationships and growth rather than kept in reserve.

This discipline extends inside the business as well, with companies that improve receivables, inventory visibility and supplier payments strategically increasing their options for management. The increased access to granular financial information not only benefits lenders but also empowers companies to make more informed decisions.