July 14 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) has created a

new unit aimed at providing alternative financing strategies to

clients, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on

Monday.

The new unit, strategic financing solutions (SFS) -

comprising experts from banking, markets and sales, will

initially focus on structured private solutions, infrastructure

finance, strategic asset-backed securities finance, merchant

banking and direct lending.

"Financing needs are becoming increasingly complex while

investors are seeking exposure to new markets," Doug Petno and

Troy Rohrbaugh, co-heads of the commercial & investment bank,

wrote in the memo.

The new team will focus on delivering alternative solutions

to their corporate and sponsor clients, while also providing

access to transactions in both public and private markets to

their investor clients, according to the memo.

Warfield Price and Masi Yamada, two senior executives, will

co-head the SFS group in addition to their current roles. They

will report to Kevin Foley, global head of capital markets, and

Brad Tully, global head of corporate derivatives and private

side sales, who will oversee the initiative.

The move to create a new unit comes at a time when banks are

looking to tap into the rapidly growing private credit market,

which has attracted increasing investor interest as companies

seek funding outside traditional bank financing.

Private credit refers to loans provided by non-bank lenders,

which are typically made to risky borrowers or companies looking

to finance mega buyouts with debt.

Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs ( GS ) announced the

creation of Capital Solutions Group to focus on financing large

deals and providing loans to corporate clients.

JPMorgan's ( JPM ) plans for the new unit were first reported by the

Bloomberg News.