ASIC Chair Joe Longo has outlined 11 key risks facing Australian businesses in 2026, including retail exposure to private credit markets, AI-powered cybercrime and superannuation operational failures. Australia’s financial regulator has outlined 11 critical flashpoints it expects to dominate the business landscape in 2026, with private credit markets, superannuation operational failures and AI-powered cybercrime topping the list. Private credit expandsRetail access to private credit and other private market products is expanding rapidly, with investment thresholds as low as $2,000 now available through investment platforms including superannuation funds. However, ASIC’s surveillance of 28 private credit funds from October 2024 to August 2025 identified significant concerns. The regulator has flagged that in 2026, it will focus surveillance on fees, margin structures and conflict of interest management in wholesale private credit funds, as well as distribution of private credit funds to retail clients through direct and advised channels.