June 12 (Reuters) - Investment firm Carlyle Group ( CG )

has partnered with U.S. banking giant Citigroup ( C/PN ) to provide

asset-backed financing to fintech lenders, the companies said on

Thursday.

As part of the partnership, Carlyle and Citi will share

market intelligence, and explore co-investment and financing

opportunities, the companies added.

The rise of fintech lending, fueled by convenient

application processes and flexible credit, is pushing

traditional financial heavyweights to gain exposure to the

space.

Facing surging demand from borrowers, fintech lenders are

also increasingly turning to investment firms for capital.

"Demand for scalable and tailored asset-backed financing

solutions from fintech lenders has increased as they mature and

seek efficient ways to fund their growth," said Akhil Bansal,

head of asset-backed finance at Carlyle.

Asset-backed financing is a type of lending secured by a

pool of assets, and is one of the fastest-growing segments of

the private credit market.

Citi also has a $25 billion private credit partnership with

Apollo.