Why the European credit shift is structural
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Featured in Private Debt Investor’s Future of Private Debt Report, Arrow’s Founder, CEO and CIO, Zach Lewy, explains why the European private credit opportunity is fundamentally structural, not cyclical, and how Arrow is positioned to lead in this evolving market.
Private credit in Europe is often viewed as cyclical, but the most compelling drivers are structural: fragmented markets, regulatory transformation, and the retreat of traditional banks from complex credit activities. These long-term shifts are reshaping the opportunity set, particularly in real estate and asset-backed lending, where institutional capital remains underrepresented. Arrow is uniquely positioned to capitalise on this evolution through its operational infrastructure, regulatory authorisations, and deep local presence.
With 24 local platforms across Europe, Arrow offers regulatory-aligned origination, underwriting, and servicing capabilities tailored to each jurisdiction. This vertically integrated model enables efficient capital deployment across diverse legal and market environments, capabilities critical in structurally fragmented markets. Arrow’s strength lies in its ability to navigate complexity with precision, blending data-driven underwriting, active servicing, and fund management expertise to deliver customised solutions.
“Our conviction in this long-term opportunity has only deepened.”
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Zach Lewy
CEO, CIO, Fund Principal
Zach has more than 25 years of executive experience in investment management and asset servicing. He founded Arrow Global in 2005 and has since led the business as Group CEO and CIO, transforming it into a leading Pan-European investment manager specialising in private credit and real estate. Under Zach’s leadership, Arrow manages more than €110 billion of serviced assets across Western Europe and generates alpha across alternative asset classes, including opportunistic credit, real estate, and lending.
Zach has supervised over 3,000 deals at Arrow and plays a key role as lead Principal in Arrow’s fund manager. Prior to founding Arrow, he was an Officer of Sallie Mae, a Director at Vertex (the BPO division of United Utilities), and a Founder and Executive Director of 7C (a U.K. BPO company acquired by Vertex). He has also served as Chair of the U.K. Debt Buyers Association and the Chair of SCOR. In 2010, he was named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
Zach graduated from Princeton University with a BA in Economics with Honours and a Certificate in Applied and Computational Mathematics with Honours.