Wells Fargo & Co. — nearly two years after starting a venture with Centerbridge Partners — is building out another new hook to the bank’s lending machine: offering loans to smaller private equity shops.
The bank has formed a mid-cap sponsor group in its commercial banking business, led by Tucker Sampson, the managing director spearheading the initiative who joined the firm last year from Bank of America Corp.
Lending to middle-market private equity shops, and in turn their portfolio companies, has been part of the tug of war between banks and private credit firms. Tighter regulations after the financial crisis caused some banks to pull back from the market.
But firms including Wells Fargo have also been seeking in recent years to get deeper into the business by looking for ways to work together with the nonbank lenders. In 2024, Wells Fargo launched a direct-lending venture with Centerbridge, called Overland Advantage. The business development company and Wells Fargo have put together more than $7 billion of deals since it started investing in late 2024.
The bank’s new mid-cap sponsors group will focus on cash flow-based financing on the bank’s balance sheet, often through priority revolvers and asset-based lendi