Blackstone Is in Talks With US Regional Banks Over Lending (1)

Blackstone Inc. is in talks with regional banks about forming partnerships where they would make loans that the firm funnels to its insurance clients, underlining the growing heft of private capital’s heavyweights in financial markets.

The alternative asset manager is in discussions with lenders with between $100 billion and $250 billion in assets, the FT reported Blackstone President Jon Gray as saying in an interview. He declined to name the lenders involved.

Under Gray’s proposal, the insurers would pay a fee to Blackstone for directing the assets to them, and they would hold the debt to maturity. He said firms ...