Banks have been searching for the best way to carve out their own piece of the US$1.6 trillion private credit market as higher rates spark a flood of investor interest and increasingly stringent capital rules make them more wary of keeping loans on their balance sheet. "Private credit has already been eating into Wall Street banks' share of the leveraged loan and high-yield bond markets, a key fee generator," said a source. Several lenders have announced private credit partnerships, and others are looking at options. JPMorgan is in ongoing discussions with potential partners, and in some meetings has floated charging fees that amount to about 2.5%. The fees and lack of veto power pitched in some of the conversations have made some firms reluctant to join the effort. A spokeswoman for JPMorgan declined to comment.