SHORT sellers’ bets against US life insurance stocks more than doubled in the past year to over US$5bil, a Reuters analysis of Ortex data shows, a move that analysts say in part reflects concerns about exposure to the opaque private credit sector.

Jitters about private credit – lending to companies by non-banks, such as private equity funds and asset managers – have shaped markets in recent months, after portfolio managers were found to hold debt from bankrupt auto firms and a UK mortgage provider accused of fraud.