BlackRock has imposed limits on investor withdrawals from one of its major private credit funds, specifically the US$26 billion HPS Corporate Lending Fund (HLEND). This non-traded business development company (BDC) targets retail investors and focuses on direct lending through private credit loans to corporations. In Q1 of 2026, the fund experienced a significant surge in redemption requests, with investors seeking to withdraw approximately 9.3% of the fund's shares—equivalent to roughly US$1.2 billion. However, BlackRock decided to cap the repurchases at 5% of the fund's shares, in line with the vehicle's standard quarterly liquidity limit. As a result, the firm distributed about US$620 million to redeeming investors, fulfilling only around half of the requested amount.

This move comes amid broader pressures in the private credit sector, a rapidly growing market now worth trillions of dollars overall. Redemption requests have risen across several managers as investor sentiment has cooled, possibly due to concerns over credit quality, underwriting standards, economic uncertainty, or shifting interest rate environments. For comparison, BlackRock is fully honoring redemptions in a smaller US$2.2 billion private credit fund that saw only 4.5% of shares requested for withdrawal. Other firms have taken different approaches: Blackstone met a record 7.9% tender in its flagship fund by having the firm and employees step in to purchase shares, while Blue Owl Capital processed substantial redemptions in certain vehicles. BlackRock's capping of HLEND marks the first time this particular fund has had to restrict outflows in this way.