In the fall of 2008, as the Lehman Brothers unraveled and a wider credit crisis started to make its presence felt, Proventus realized that these developments would be the catalyst for a different kind of credit market that had been foreseen by their analysis. Proventus held the view that what was being seen in the market was a structural shift, not a cyclical change: the beginnings of a sorely needed and more diversified corporate funding market in Europe. With some years of experience in credit investing, it was natural for Proventus to think about ways to widen the capital base and fully target this new structural opportunity.