Private capital gives CIBs advisory and financing opportunities

The largest players require support at the fund level, says McKinsey & Co.

Corporate and investment banks (CIBs) can provide advisory and financing support to private capital players, which have raised a billion dollars in the past decade.

The largest firms require not only advisory and financing support for individual deals but also support at the fund level, including private capital advisory, fund finance, GP M&A, secondaries, and more, according to a McKinsey & Co. report published in December 2025.

“Credit cycles inevitably turn and this one will be no different. But the sheer scale of the asset class means that banks cannot afford to have an unstructured approach to private capital,” the management consulting firm said.

Banks have a range of options to enter this market, which has reportedly raised $1b in assets under management (AUM) in the past 10 years, according to Preqin data. For example, banks can adopt a more scientific approach to segmentation and tiering, said McKinsey.

CIBs can also opt to drive a “top of house” dialogue at priority funds, with the goal of understanding the needs of the players at different levels. They may also opt to provide a service that maps all of the players’ touchpoints as well as improving sales routine and tracking.

CIB units are expected to see increased competition from “specialized attacker firms” alongside geopolitical and technological risks in 2026.

However, they can get an 20% to 30% profit uplift if they adopt a four-tier strategy that includes responding to the immediate uncertainty, building operational flexibility, capitalizing on structural shifts that cannot be ignored to drive long-term growth and resilience, and continuing to invest selectively in innovation, according to McKinsey.

To ensure operation readiness, CIBs may establish or build on an existing “nerve center", it said. This center monitors country actions, sector and customer activities, and any required shifts to models, the management consulting firm said.