Podcasts about kbra

Join Kelli Nienaber in conversation with Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) experts Van Hesser, Joanne DeSimone, and Mike Dodge, as they unpack the latest trends and challenges shaping the $1 trillion equipment finance industry. Hear expert perspectives on how KBRA evaluates credit ratings for independent, captive, and bank-owned platforms—plus, why diversification and experienced management are crucial for weathering economic shifts and volatility.

Join Kelli Nienaber in conversation with Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) experts Van Hesser, Joanne DeSimone, and Mike Dodge, as they unpack the latest trends and challenges shaping the $1 trillion equipment finance industry. Hear expert perspectives on how KBRA evaluates credit ratings for independent, captive, and bank-owned platforms—plus, why diversification and experienced management are crucial for weathering economic shifts and volatility.

Fred Perreten, Managing Director of CMBS at KBRA, joins host Patrick Dolan to discuss the current landscape of the data center securitization market. We examine the market's performance in 2024, discuss potential shifts in 2025 under the Trump Administration, and break down the ratings criteria that play a role in these unique transactions.Listen and subscribe to the Securitization Insight podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast app.

Rahel Avigdor, Managing Director of Consumer ABS at KBRA, joins host Patrick Dolan to discuss trends in auto loan securitizations. Rahel provides her perspective on how the prime and sub-prime auto loan securitization markets performed in 2024, changes she may expect in these markets in 2025 under the Trump Administration, key ratings criteria for rating auto loan securitizations and any new features that she is seeing in auto loan securitizations.

Van Hesser, Senior Managing Director and Chief Strategist at KBRA, joins host Patrick Dolan to discuss the current state of credit markets. Van provides his perspective on how investors are interacting with the market and whether their appetite for risk has shifted.  Listen and subscribe to the Securitization Insight podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast app.

STACIE OLIVARES BIO Stacie Olivares structures and optimizes funds and innovations for scaled impact. She is a board director and chief investment officer for best-in-class funds and innovative companies with oversight of $1.4 trillion in retirement funds, $29 billion of insurance industry sustainable investment, and more than $3 trillion bond issuance. Stacie is a Senate-confirmed member of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board which oversees the $900 billion Thrift Savings Plan, the largest defined contribution plan globally with best-in-class performance for the benefit of 6.8 million participants. She previously served as a board member of CalPERS, the largest defined benefit pension fund in the United States.  Stacie also serves on the board of credit rating agency KBRA and previously served as audit committee chair for Core Scientific and Mission Advancement Corp. She serves on the nonprofit boards of the California Endowment, Latino Community Foundation, Hispanic Heritage Foundation, and the UC Berkeley College of Letters & Science. Previously she was chief investment officer of Lendistry, chief investment officer of COIN,  finance professional at Morgan Stanley, and business development director for Palm. She holds degrees from UC Berkeley and Harvard University. She is an Aspen Institute Finance Leaders Fellow and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. STACIE RELATED LINKS Aspen Profile FRTIB Profile Bloomberg Profile CalPERS Appoinment Latino Community Foundation Profile GENERAL INFO| TOP OF THE GAME: Official website: https://topofthegame-thepod.com/ RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/topofthegame-thepod/feed.xml Hosting service show website: https://topofthegame-thepod.podbean.com/ Javier's LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/javiersaade  SUPPORT & CONNECT: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/96934564 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551086203755 Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOPOFGAMEpod Subscribe on Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/site/podcatcher/index/blog/vLKLE1SKjf6G Email us: info@topofthegame-thepod.com   THANK YOU FOR LISTENING – AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PLATFORMS  

In our first episode of 2024, Tom Speller, Managing Director and Head of European Funds at KBRA, takes some time out to speak with Zoë Hallam and Julia Keppe, co-heads of the Walkers' Channel Islands fund finance practice. His insights into the increased prevalence of ratings in both Europe and the US and across the full fund finance product spectrum as well as the key drivers behind this trend are worth a listen. 

Xilun Chen, managing director at Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), joins host Patrick Dolanto discuss predictions for 2023 for the whole business securitization (WBS) market. We talk about the restaurant industry, which makes up a large portion of WBS issuers, and how it has adapted to the post-COVID environment. We also explore the impact of the current inflationary environment on franchisees and the key considerations and trends KBRA is focusing on.Listen and subscribe to the Securitization Insight podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast app.

In this episode, Gordon Kerr, Head of European Research discusses the Outlook for European Securitisation in 2023. In the first of a two-part series, Gordon engages with KBRA analysts to cover consumer-oriented collateral in European securitizations. Collateral challenges are expected to be the focus for 2023 as the recessionary environment takes hold and consumers face increased cost of living. KBRA analysts, Ken Egan from sovereign ratings, Killian Walsh from European ABS, and Kali Sirugudi from European RMBS cover the various challenges ahead for European consumers and their impact on securitization. A copy of the full European 2023 Outlook report can be found on kbra.com.

In this episode, Gordon Kerr, Head of European Research is asked questions by Luigi Griffo from KBRA's European Investor Relations about the results of a recent survey. Investors in the European Securitisation market were asked their views for issuance and performance in the short to medium term. This is the second KBRA survey in 2022, providing a dynamic picture as views change. The first survey in June 2022 painted a concerning picture as many challenges lay ahead. The environment still presents a difficult future, but the context has changed, as have investors views. Take a listen to some of the interesting views presented. A copy of the full report for December 2022, as well as the June 2022 survey can be found on kbra.com.

In this episode, Gordon Kerr, Head of European Research speaks with Kali Sirugudi from the RMBS ratings team about the impact of the current rising interest rate environment on commercial real estate in Europe. We engage in a discussion about how the Spanish housing market has adapted from its position pre-global financial crisis and is better prepared for the challenges ahead. In Spain, the housing market suffered dramatically in the wake of the global financial crisis with house prices collapsing and delinquencies and defaults surging. In 2023 the market will be challenged again, but KBRA argues that it is in a much better position than it was in 2007. Further reading on the topic can be found on kbra.com.

THIRD-QUARTER 2022 BANK EARNINGS IN REVIEWStable Outlook in 2023 for U.S. Banking Industry Despite Monetary HeadwindsKBRA Financial Institutions Group analysts Leah Hallfors, Senior Director, John Rempe, Director, and Brian Ropp, Managing Director, discuss KBRA's latest views of the U.S. banking industry and 2023 sector outlook, as well as the key takeaways of 3Q22 financial results. This edition also highlights the resilience of the KBRA-rated bank universe amid the intensified tightening cycle.The 10th episode of Bank Compendium Insights examines: 1. Earnings performance amid rising rates and competing tailwinds and headwinds 2. Accelerating deposit betas and the strength of deposit franchises 3. The lagged effect on loan portfolio quality 4. Banks generally better positioned to withstand stressed conditions versus previous cycles

KBRA says Non-QM-backed securities issuers aren't redeeming these holdings once they are callable. In fact, 27 securities are waiting. Why is this happening? And could this cause problems for Non-QM origination, since lenders in this market have fewer funding options?

In this special episode of ESG Talks, KBRA's Chief ESG and Ratings Policy Officer, Pat Welch, and KBRA's Chief Strategist, Van Hesser, speak on all things ESG and give an overview on current trends in credit markets on the Bermuda Royal Gazette (RG) Business Podcast with Shivani Seth. RG Business is a podcast that examines global business in Bermuda, the industries and sectors that lead its economy, and the impact it has globally. KBRA recently hosted an ESG and Credit Market Lunch in Bermuda on Oct. 12 where similar topics were covered.

In a rapidly changing financial environment, learn about KBRA's approach to ESG in the credit rating process and how it is keeping pace as issues evolve.   Patrick Welch is Chief ESG & Ratings Policy Officer at Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), responsible for leading all aspects of KBRA's commitment as an ESG-focused firm, delivering to investors the highest quality credit analysis and research. Prior to this role, Pat served as KBRA's chief credit officer for five years.   Previously, Pat worked for 19 years at Goldman Sachs, where he served as a vice president within the Credit Risk Management and Advisory Department, and as deputy chief credit officer at Goldman Sachs Bank USA.   Previously to Goldman Sachs, Pat spent seven years in the Structured Finance Group at Standard & Poor's (now S&P Global Ratings), where he rated numerous asset classes. He began his career as an analyst at Security Pacific National Bank.   Pat holds both a B.S. and MBA from Cornell University.   Van Hesser is a Senior Managing Director and Chief Strategist at KBRA, where he is responsible for commenting on market and economic developments and their impact on credit markets. Previously, he led the company's Financial Institutions and Corporates credit rating groups. Van has been named to Institutional Investor Magazine's All-America Fixed Income Research Team rankings 10 times across three categories.   Prior to joining KBRA, Van was a managing director in the Financial Institutions Group at Wells Fargo Principal Investments. Previously, he worked at HSBC Securities for 10 years, serving as managing director and global head of Credit Research and head of U.S. Fixed Income Research.   Van also held senior sell-side corporate bond research roles covering financial institutions at Credit Suisse First Boston and Goldman Sachs, as well as a corporate finance position in Salomon Brothers' Financial Institutions Group. He started his career as a bank examiner at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.   Van earned a B.S., cum laude, from Fordham University and an MBA from Yale University.   Sponsor – KBRA Website: https://www.kbra.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kroll-bond-rating-agency-llc/

In this episode, Gordon Kerr, Head of European Research, speaks with Kali Sirigudi, Managing Director, RMBS, about the challenges ahead for UK consumers. The two KBRA analysts discuss the potential impact of current developments impacting the average UK consumer and borrower. Further reading on the topic can be found on kbra.com.

In this episode we discuss KBRA's recent rating action on the United Kingdom (UK) and the management of the UK ratings since KBRA first assigned its rating in 2018. In the podcast, KBRA's Ken Egan, lead analyst on the UK credit rating, walks us through the credit rating history of the UK, highlights the main factors identified for the downgrade in its recent credit report, and provides an update on the current macro situation in the country.

In this special episode of ESG Talks, Jim Nadler, KBRA's CEO and President, and Kate Kennedy, Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of KBRA's Business Development Group discuss the importance of ESG on the Royal Gazette (RG) Business Podcast with Shivani Seth. RG Business is a podcast that examines global business in Bermuda, the industries and sectors that lead its economy, and the impact it has globally. In this episode of the Navigate Series, learn about how KBRA has changed the landscape of rating analysis and the firm's comprehensive strategy for ESG.

In this episode, Gordon Kerr, Head of European Research speaks with Yee Cent Wong, Co-Head of Europe, Kali Sirugudi, Managing Director, European RMBS, Kilian Walsh, Managing Director, European ABS, Stephen Hughes, Director, European CMBS, and Gabriele Gramazio, Director, European Structured Credit about the recent annual Global ABS conference for the securitization market. With market concerns on the horizon, it wasn't all rosy on the beach in Barcelona. In this podcast we discuss insights that KBRA analysts have gleaned from their discussions with market participants. Further reading on the event can be found in the Daily Recaps in full on kbra.com.

This recording is from Fintech Nexus USA (formerly known as LendIt Fintech USA) held at the Javits Center in New York City on May 25-26, 2022. It is from the track: Consumer Lending: BNPL, Cards and Personal Loans - Sponsored by FICO and is titled: The State of Consumer Lending Today Post Pandemic. Speaking at this session are Lindsay Burkhalter, Curinos, Rosemary Kelley, KBRA,  with Moderator: John Wirth, TransUnion.

In this episode of the Navigate Series, learn about KBRA – the credit rating agency that has changed the landscape of rating analysis and find out about their comprehensive strategy for ESG ratings.​   Jim Nadler is President and CEO of Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) Prior to joining KBRA, Jim was responsible for all alternative assets in the New England Asset Management Division at General Re Corporation.  Over the last 30 years, Jim has held several executive roles in the financial analysis arena; In 1989, he joined Fitch Ratings and was instrumental in the growth of Fitch's Structured Finance.  Jim was a senior accountant at Pricewaterhouse Coopers before moving to Standard & Poor's (now S&P Global Ratings), as a ratings officer.  Jim is the Board Chairman of DealVector, serves on the boards for the New York City/Long Island Chapter of JDRF, and is an elected member of The Economic Club of New York. Jim earned a B.A. in economics from the University of Kansas and an MBA from Rutgers University.    Kate Kennedy is a Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of the Business Development Group at Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), responsible for Marketing and Investor Relations. Kate also oversees KBRA Analytics, the company's product platform for high-quality data and advanced analytics, which includes KBRA Financial Intelligence (KFI), KBRA Altman, and the company's Ratings Feed platform.  Prior to joining KBRA in 2011, Kate was a senior director at Fitch Ratings for 12 years, spearheading the investor relations initiative across U.S. Structured Finance.  Prior to Fitch Ratings, Kate worked for two years at the Norinchukin Bank, where she was responsible for portfolio management reporting and trade settlement with U.S. investment banks, brokers, and custodians.

KBRA releases a new podcast episode discussing the following topics:Tighter financial conditions in emerging markets are not containing inflation.China exposure and food security and prices remain key credit risks for emerging market economies, offset somewhat by commodity price gains for producing economiesManaging these challenges by delivering faster-paced structural reform or seizing near-shoring opportunities can mitigate emerging market credit risk.

KBRA releases a new podcast episode discussing the following topics:Tighter financial conditions in emerging markets are not containing inflation.China exposure and food security and prices remain key credit risks for emerging market economies, offset somewhat by commodity price gains for producing economiesManaging these challenges by delivering faster-paced structural reform or seizing near-shoring opportunities can mitigate emerging market credit risk.

In the first episode of season 5 of ESG Talks, Pat Welch, KBRA's Chief ESG and Ratings Policy Officer interviews Bill Curry, president and CEO of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), Peter Schlosser, Vice President and Vice Provost of Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University (ASU), and Kenro Kusumi, Dean of Natural Sciences at ASU. In October 2021, BIOS and ASU announced a strategic partnership to elevate awareness around the critical role that the ocean plays in climate mitigation. Pat, Bill, Peter, and Kenro discuss the research that BIOS and ASU do to explore the world's oceans and address the global and environmental challenges we face as climate change grows more extreme. The group also discusses highlights of the Bermuda Climate Summit hosted by the Bermuda Development Agency and sponsored by KBRA.

FIRST-QUARTER 2022 BANK EARNINGS IN REVIEW KBRA Financial Institutions Group analysts John Rempe, Director, and Leah Hallfors, Senior Director, cover the key takeaways of 1Q22 financial results, dissect interest rate sensitivity of KBRA's coverage and also review the potential impact of inflationary pressures on auto lending. The eighth episode of Bank Compendium Insights highlights: 1. Earnings Performance: Bank ROA and NIM results and trends in a higher interest rate environment 2. Capital: Core capital trends and impact of AOCI on TCE ratios 3. Consumer: Drill down on auto lending 4. ESG Bulletin Spotlight – PacWest Bancorp and Industry developments in ESG

FIRST-QUARTER 2022 BANK EARNINGS IN REVIEW KBRA Financial Institutions Group analysts John Rempe, Director, and Leah Hallfors, Senior Director, cover the key takeaways of 1Q22 financial results, dissect interest rate sensitivity of KBRA's coverage and also review the potential impact of inflationary pressures on auto lending. The eighth episode of Bank Compendium Insights highlights: 1. Earnings Performance: Bank ROA and NIM results and trends in a higher interest rate environment 2. Capital: Core capital trends and impact of AOCI on TCE ratios 3. Consumer: Drill down on auto lending 4. ESG Bulletin Spotlight – PacWest Bancorp and Industry developments in ESG

KBRA releases a new podcast episode discussing the Ukrainian refugee crisis and the financial support being organized as a means of assistance. The discussion explores topics such as potential costs, allocation of funds between countries hosting refugees and displaced persons within Ukraine, facilities already announced, as well as the macro and political backdrop in Europe in face of this new stress. “The theme of refugee absorption will likely take center stage for European politics in the coming weeks and months as the pressure mounts,” according to Ken Egan, Director in KBRA's Sovereigns Group.

KBRA releases a new podcast episode discussing the Ukrainian refugee crisis and the financial support being organized as a means of assistance. The discussion explores topics such as potential costs, allocation of funds between countries hosting refugees and displaced persons within Ukraine, facilities already announced, as well as the macro and political backdrop in Europe in face of this new stress. “The theme of refugee absorption will likely take center stage for European politics in the coming weeks and months as the pressure mounts,” according to Ken Egan, Director in KBRA's Sovereigns Group.

In the second episode of a two-part Conversations in European Credit, Gordon Kerr, Head of European Research speaks with several members of the KBRA team on the current environment:Gabriele Gramazio, Director, European CLOsKali Sirugudi, Managing Director, European RMBSKillian Walsh, Senior Director, European ABSStephen Hughes, Director, European CMBSIn the podcast, they will discuss the impact of conflict, inflation and interest rates and the resulting changes to the direction of European markets.

In the first episode of a two-part Conversations in European Credit, Gordon Kerr, Head of European Research speaks with several members of the KBRA team on the current environment:Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, Senior Managing Director, Sovereigns Garrett Tynan, Managing Director, European Head Project Finance & Infrastructure Joanna Drobnik, Senior Director, Financial Institutions Ken Egan, Director, SovereignsIn the podcast, they will discuss the impact of conflict, inflation and interest rates and the resulting changes to the direction of European markets.

In this episode of ESG Talks, Andrea Torres Villanueva, an Associate on KBRA's ESG team speaks with Bill Cox, Global Head of Corporate, Financial and Government Ratings, and Andrew Giudici, Global Head of Corporate, Project, and Infrastructure Finance. Bill and Andrew highlight findings from a recent KBRA research publication, “It Is Time to Measure the Real Impact of a Carbon Tax,” that details how corporations use internal carbon pricing, the challenges with carbon prices, and how regulatory efforts to reduce global emissions may impact a corporation's financial performance.

In this episode, Gordon Kerr, Head of European Research is joined by Killian Walsh, Kali Sirigudi, Stephen Hughes and Gabriele Gramazio to discuss the Outlook for European structured finance in 2022. Challenges are developing on the horizon for the market. Listen in as Gordon engages with his colleagues to outline how KBRA view the impact on the European securitisation market.

Challenges are developing on the horizon for the European securitisation market. In this episode, Gordon Kerr, Head of European Research at KBRA, is joined by Killian Walsh, Kali Sirigudi, Stephen Hughes, and Gabriele Gramazio to discuss the Outlook for European structured finance in 2022 and outline how KBRA views the impact on the sector.

In the last episode of the third season of ESG Talks, Emilie Nadler, an Associate Director on KBRA's ESG Team, interviews Pat Welch, KBRA's Chief ESG and Ratings Policy Officer, and Van Hesser, KBRA's Chief Strategist. As interest in ESG investing grows, financial market participants are increasingly interested in accessing better quality ESG information to make investment decisions and are also looking to rating agencies to understand the relevance of ESG to financial metrics and the risk of default. Pat, Van, and Emilie discuss KBRA's approach to ESG integration in credit ratings and research.“At KBRA, we believe most ESG issues that intersect with credit risk analysis are inherently management issues. For this reason we call our ESG approach in the corporates, financial institutions, and governments space ‘ESG Management.' In the world of credit risk analysis ESG can't be done as a simple scoring exercise – it requires thoughtful analysis of myriad, and often interconnected risk management issues. Our approach gives transparency into the real-world and into the dynamic risks that ESG presents to entities.” – Pat Welch, KBRA's Chief ESG and Ratings Policy Officer

In our first full-length episode, Lenny Giltman, Chief Credit Officer at Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), joins us to discuss his experience at KBRA. We go over the role of the ratings legal department at KBRA, the importance of legal review in credit analysis, Lenny's background in legal and how it informs his new position as Chief Credit Officer, the asset classes KBRA is most active in, how KBRA is distinguished from other ratings agencies and the obstacles it faces in building its market share, how it has responded to the increased focus on ESG risk and more.

In this episode, Michael Alter, Associate Director of Power, Energy, and Renewable Finance, and Andrew Giudici, Global Head of Corporate, Project, and Infrastructure Finance, discuss what energy storage is, the types of use cases it can target, and how KBRA assesses the technology in terms of project credit quality and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks.

In this episode, Michael Alter, Associate Director of Power, Energy, and Renewable Finance, and Andrew Giudici, Global Head of Corporate, Project, and Infrastructure Finance, discuss what energy storage is, the types of use cases it can target, and how KBRA assesses the technology in terms of project credit quality and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks.

In this episode, Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, Head of Sovereigns at KBRA, highlights the following topics: • China growth slowdown and monetary policy normalization by global central banks are key to watch. • Food price inflation is a particularly sensitive area for emerging markets (EM). • Real effective exchange rate weakness helps insulate EMs from shock. • Reality check: Many EMs have until recently upgraded their growth projections and have been proactive in the face of tightening credit conditions. “Inflationary impulses don't appear to be putting EMs in the danger zones like in the past, even considering the inflation we are experiencing in this stage of the pandemic environment.” – Joan Feldbaum-Vidra

In this episode, Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, Head of Sovereigns at KBRA, highlights the following topics: • China growth slowdown and monetary policy normalization by global central banks are key to watch. • Food price inflation is a particularly sensitive area for emerging markets (EM). • Real effective exchange rate weakness helps insulate EMs from shock. • Reality check: Many EMs have until recently upgraded their growth projections and have been proactive in the face of tightening credit conditions. “Inflationary impulses don't appear to be putting EMs in the danger zones like in the past, even considering the inflation we are experiencing in this stage of the pandemic environment.” – Joan Feldbaum-Vidra

This podcast episode discussing China's growth performance and prospects, as well as the reasons behind some of its bold policy moves. In this episode, KBRA Managing Director and Head of Sovereigns Joan Feldbaum-Vidra explains why China's Q3-Q4 and longer-term growth may be on weaker footing, why small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China are struggling, and how tightening of credit elsewhere, coupled with regulatory U-turns, may dampen investment.“Major regulatory action aims to change the way business is being conducted in China," — Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, Managing Director and Head of Sovereign Ratings, KBRA

This podcast episode discussing China's growth performance and prospects, as well as the reasons behind some of its bold policy moves. In this episode, KBRA Managing Director and Head of Sovereigns Joan Feldbaum-Vidra explains why China's Q3-Q4 and longer-term growth may be on weaker footing, why small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China are struggling, and how tightening of credit elsewhere, coupled with regulatory U-turns, may dampen investment.“Major regulatory action aims to change the way business is being conducted in China," — Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, Managing Director and Head of Sovereign Ratings, KBRA

In this episode of ESG Talks, Andrea Torres Villanueva, an Associate on KBRA's ESG team, interviews Eric Thompson, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Structured Finance Ratings. Eric and Andrea discuss ESG trends in securitization, the challenges of ESG integration, and KBRA's process of incorporating ESG into structured finance transactions.

In this episode of ESG Talks, Bill Cox, Global Head of Corporate, Financial, and Government Ratings at KBRA, sits down with Wesley Misson and Katie McShane from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. Cadwalader has a globally recognized Fund Finance practice, which spans the U.S. and Europe. Wes is a partner in the firm's Finance Group, where he leads the ESG initiative. He is also co-lead of Cadwalader's U.S.-based Fund Finance practice and has experience in subscription, hybrid, and ESG fund facilities. Katie is an associate in Cadwalader's Finance Group, focusing on the area of fund finance. Katie represents major banks and financial institutions in the structuring, negotiation, and documentation of subscription fund facilities, including ESG facilities. Bill, Wes, and Katie speak about ESG developments in the fund finance space and how the momentum in ESG investing has changed the landscape.

KBRA released the second episode of a two-part conversation with Dan D'Aniello, co-founder of the Carlyle Group. In this episode, William Cox, Global Head of Corporate, Financial, and Government ratings at KBRA, discusses with Dan the drivers behind the growth in Secondaries strategies and the increasing role and impact of Private Credit and Direct Lending.

KBRA released the second episode of a two-part conversation with Dan D'Aniello, co-founder of the Carlyle Group. In this episode, William Cox, Global Head of Corporate, Financial, and Government ratings at KBRA, discusses with Dan the drivers behind the growth in Secondaries strategies and the increasing role and impact of Private Credit and Direct Lending.

KBRA released the first of a two-part conversation with Dan D'Aniello, co-founder of The Carlyle Group. In this episode, William Cox, Global Head of Corporate, Financial, and Government ratings at KBRA, talks with Dan about how ESG fits into the history and evolution of the market and how ESG considerations impact Private Capital.

KBRA released the first of a two-part conversation with Dan D'Aniello, co-founder of The Carlyle Group. In this episode, William Cox, Global Head of Corporate, Financial, and Government ratings at KBRA, talks with Dan about how ESG fits into the history and evolution of the market and how ESG considerations impact Private Capital.

The Klamath Basin is suffering the worst drought in the state. Competing need for the water by local tribes to sustain endangered fish populations, farmers and ranchers and commercial and tribal fisheries has been a persistent issue, and has led to conflicts in the past. The Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, which took 10 years to plan, was a turning point and a compromise for the parties needing access to the water. The KBRA was ultimately not successful in Congress, but some say the relationships forged when crafting those agreements persist and can be built on to revisit new solutions. We're joined by geography professors at Oregon State University, Hannah Gosnell and Aaron Wolf who tell us about the possibilities for mediating this issue.

In this week's episode, KBRA Chief Strategist Van Hesser discusses: 1. The press is reporting that the Fed will begin to unwind its corporate bond investments made to stabilize credit markets in the early days of the pandemic. Is this a taper tantrum corporate-style? 2. Credit markets are normalizing—what does that mean for supply and spreads? 3. KBRA has published its financial strength rating report on Lloyd's of London. It's worth a look.

In this episode, we will discuss three things about KBRA's rating of Lloyd's. Please note that this podcast will not cover every element of our rating analysis, so we encourage our listeners to view the full rating report, which is available free of charge at our website, kbra.com. This conversation will be moderated by William Cox, senior managing director and global head of KBRA's Corporate, Financial Institutions and Government practice. He is joined by Peter Giacone, leader of KBRA's insurance team, and his colleague, Carol Pierce, a senior director in the insurance group.

In this episode, we will discuss three things about KBRA's rating of Lloyd's. Please note that this podcast will not cover every element of our rating analysis, so we encourage our listeners to view the full rating report, which is available free of charge at our website, kbra.com. This conversation will be moderated by William Cox, senior managing director and global head of KBRA's Corporate, Financial Institutions and Government practice. He is joined by Peter Giacone, leader of KBRA's insurance team, and his colleague, Carol Pierce, a senior director in the insurance group.

In the final episode of the second season of ESG Talks, Emilie Nadler, an Associate Director on KBRA's ESG Team chats with Pat Welch, KBRA's Chief ESG and Ratings Policy Officer. Pat and Emilie discuss trends in ESG investing, KBRA's recent ESG initiatives, highlights from the second season of ESG Talks plus what's to come in the third season.

KBRA releases a new podcast episode featuring a cross-section of KBRA analysts sharing their views on the issue of globalization. Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, Head of Sovereigns, and panel moderator for this episode, is joined by Ken Egan, Associate Director in Sovereigns, Michael Labuskes, Senior Director in Transportation, and Van Hesser, KBRA's Chief Strategist. The analysts discuss recent developments in global trade, COVID-related recovery priorities, and underlying developments that work toward enhancing global connectivity.

KBRA releases a new podcast episode featuring a cross-section of KBRA analysts sharing their views on the issue of globalization. Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, Head of Sovereigns, and panel moderator for this episode, is joined by Ken Egan, Associate Director in Sovereigns, Michael Labuskes, Senior Director in Transportation, and Van Hesser, KBRA's Chief Strategist. The analysts discuss recent developments in global trade, COVID-related recovery priorities, and underlying developments that work toward enhancing global connectivity.

Senior Directors Ashley Phillips and Brian Ropp of KBRA's Financial Institutions group take us through the fourth episode of Bank Compendium Insights, which features a discussion of the impacts of COVID and CECL one year in for KBRA's U.S. Bank coverage population. They also provide a summary of the 1Q 2021 financial results and key observations about our long-term rated banking universe, as well as KBRA's expectations for the banking industry for 2021.

Senior Directors Ashley Phillips and Brian Ropp of KBRA's Financial Institutions group take us through the fourth episode of Bank Compendium Insights, which features a discussion of the impacts of COVID and CECL one year in for KBRA's U.S. Bank coverage population. They also provide a summary of the 1Q 2021 financial results and key observations about our long-term rated banking universe, as well as KBRA's expectations for the banking industry for 2021.

This podcast episode discusses China’s debt, investor exposure, and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) global risks. In this episode, KBRA Managing Director and Head of Sovereign ratings, Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, explains why direct risks from China’s indebtedness are still contained for international investors, and how the BRI debt contracts and the nature of lending increases global risks. “Where is the money going? Coal-fired plants and ports, but also 5G and underwater cables. The BRI is not just brick-and-mortar infrastructure." — Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, Managing Director and Head of Sovereign Ratings, KBRA

This podcast episode discusses China's debt, investor exposure, and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) global risks. In this episode, KBRA Managing Director and Head of Sovereign ratings, Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, explains why direct risks from China's indebtedness are still contained for international investors, and how the BRI debt contracts and the nature of lending increases global risks. “Where is the money going? Coal-fired plants and ports, but also 5G and underwater cables. The BRI is not just brick-and-mortar infrastructure." — Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, Managing Director and Head of Sovereign Ratings, KBRA

In this episode of ESG Talks, Emilie Nadler, KBRA's Associate Director of ESG, interviews Sabina Saragoussi, the Director of Partnerships for Parks. Partnerships for Parks is a private-public partnership between NYC Parks and City Parks Foundation. The organization supports and champions neighborhood volunteers by giving them the tools they need to advocate and care for their community parks and green spaces. KBRA has been a supporter of Partnerships for Parks for the past few years and is excited to announce that we will be volunteering with Partnerships for Parks every year on Earth Day starting in 2022. Emilie and Sabina celebrate Earth month and highlight the amazing work Partnerships for Parks does across NYC.

In this episode of ESG Talks, KBRA's Chief Strategist, Van Hesser, interviews Brian Ford, KBRA's Senior Director of Structured Finance Research. Van and Brian discuss the key findings from a recent KBRA research piece, EPA Greenhouse Gas Scores Shed Light on Auto Loan ABS. The report mapped the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) greenhouse gas (GHG) score to the make, model, and year information provided in auto loan asset-level disclosures to calculate an average GHG score for each loan pool.

In this episode of ESG Talks, Emilie Nadler, an Associate Director in KBRA's ESG Group, interviews Stacie Olivares, KBRA's newest board member. Structuring investments, innovation, and initiatives for competitive financial returns and positive social and environmental impact is Stacie's passion. Her career spans the private and public sectors across the areas of investment, technology, and policy. In addition to serving on KBRA's U.S. Board of Directors, Stacie was appointed in 2019 by California Governor, Gavin Newsom, to serve as a Trustee on the board of administration of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest public pension in the U.S. Stacie and Emilie discuss gender challenges in the workplace, COVID-19's impact on gender roles, and how women and men can empower each other at work.

KBRA releases a new podcast episode led by Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, a Managing Director and Head of KBRA's Sovereign Ratings Group. In this episode, a panel of KBRA analysts discuss how old themes are transitioning to new themes with regard to sovereign credit risk in Europe. Asia Drobnik, Senior Director in KBRA's Financial Institutions and Sovereigns team, joins Associate Director Ken Egan, who is responsible for managing the majority of sovereign credit views in Europe, and Peyton Tich, an intern working on a wide variety of sovereign credit views across the globe, to provide their opinions on key recent themes including: Is fiscal space constrained?; Euroscepticism at bay or on the rise?; Will the UK ride out the layered shocks of Brexit and COVID-19?

In this episode of ESG Talks, Emilie Nadler, an associate in KBRA's ESG and credit policy team, moderates a conversation between Pat Welch, Chief Credit Officer and Head of ESG, KBRA, and William Cox, Global Head of Corporate, Financial and Government Ratings. They discuss our firm's approach to Environmental, Social and Governance, and more.“We do not plan to ask our credit rating analysts to step into the fray of creating ESG ratings or ESG scores. We do, however, continue to strengthen [analysts'] focus on material, quantitative, and qualitative, E, S, or G factors that impact credit. And that's because we believe that rollup ESG scores by their nature are based on a significant number of subjective, value-based judgments about how to weight and score factors that don't correlate with credit risk.” - William Cox

Senior Directors Ashley Phillips and Brian Ropp of KBRA's Financial Institutions group take us through the third episode of Bank Compendium Insights, which features a discussion around our views on the U.S. Banking industry's 4th Quarter 2020 performance during the pandemic. They also share observations about our long-term rated banking universe, focusing on key performance and credit metrics, as well as KBRA's expectations for the banking industry and items that they are closely monitoring as the economic situation continues to play out over the next several quarters.

In this week's episode of 3 Things in Credit, KBRA Chief Strategist Van Hesser discusses: • The Jobs report: Beyond the headline numbers, the quality of the labor market is telling a different story • Energy on the rebound: Energy has gotten caught up in the reflation trade, and it may have some legs • ESG management, not ESG scores: Van explains the difference, as well as KBRA's approach to evaluating ESG

In the first episode of our second season of ESG Talks, KBRA president and CEO Jim Nadler interviews California State Treasurer Fiona Ma. Treasurer Ma is the 34th state treasurer of California and took office in 2019. She is the first woman of color and the first woman Certified Public Accountant elected to the position. Treasurer Ma has built a reputation as a solution-oriented public servant and has been adept at building unlikely coalitions to overcome California's most complex problems.

In this episode, Marjan Riggi, Senior Managing Director, Head of Aviation, Transportation and Commercial Finance at KBRA speaks with Corinne Hill, Senior Director and Michael Labuskes, Senior Director, Head of shipping, about what a great year it was for container shipping. Other topics discussed include potential opportunities, ship financing and ESG. The discussion will also include supply discipline; Does it last?

KBRA launches the second episode of 3 Things in Credit, a new KBRA Podcasts series hosted by Chief Strategist Van Hesser. In this week's episode, Van looks at clues to the economic outlook revealed in big bank Q4 earnings, important milestones in aviation finance, and what credit investors need to know about our presidential transfer of power.

In this episode of KBRA's Structured Finance series, Keith Kockenmeister, Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of CMBS Ratings, sits down with fellow KBRA analysts to discuss the state of the market in 2020, specifically the impacts of COVID-19 on CMBS issuance, property types and CMBS ratings, as well as what to expect in 2021. Joining him in this episode is Nitin Bhasin, Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of CMBS Ratings, and Roy Chun, a Managing Director in our CMBS Group.

This was the opening panel session of Prospectus 2021, a new annual reinsurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) conference brought to you by Artemis in collaboration with sister title Reinsurance News, in association with Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), panellists discussed the Covid-19 outlook for the re/insurance and ILS industry. To start, Peter Giacone, Managing Director, Global Head of Insurance, KBRA, noted the very unique situation that the markets are in many months after the arrival of the global crisis. “I think back to how we were looking at it and trying to grapple with the issues back in March and April. I think now, with the benefit of six months of hindsight, I think the industry has actually fared quite well. From a credit risk perspective, I think there was an awful lot of hand wringing that was going on at the time, there was a lot of concern around how assets and liabilities would behave,” said Giacone. At KBRA, he continued, the firm tried to keep a very steady hand with regards to taking rating actions, which Giacone said has proven to be the correct course of action. “I think the asset side of the balance sheet has sort of stabilised a little, obviously with quite a bit of volatility and uncertainty continuing. So, some of the short-term concern on that front, I think, has somewhat subsided, but we will obviously have new challenges, in terms of low interest rates,” he said. Adding, “On the liability side, I think also, again, lots of uncertainty. But, some of the very large numbers that had been bantered around initially, which I think made sense at the time, certainly I think we're at a point now where perhaps some of those are not where we're going to land. And, so, I think that's good news for the industry overall.” The panel discussion also features David Flandro of HX, Linda Johnson of TigerRisk Partners and Joanna Syroka of Fermat Capital Management.

Today I spoke with Laura Shannon, a Managing Director with Kroll Bond Rating Agency, who leads their monthly subscription CMBS surveillance service – KBRA Credit Profile (KCP). CRE is a non-homogenous asset class that is best analyzed by people - and KCP provides the technology and processes to enable its seasoned staff with tools to deliver monthly commentary and analysis for over 1,100 CMBS transactions. The service, which can be found at kcp.kbra.com, includes color for all top 10 loans as well as KBRA Loans of Concern (K-LOC), which are either in default or imminent risk of default - regardless of whether they appear on servicer watchlists. Information provided by KCP includes detailed loan level analysis, inclusive of valuations, assumptions, timing, and loss projections - with a team that stands behind their work and is available to speak to clients. KCP is a division of KBRA Analytics, an affiliate of Kroll Bond Rating Agency – KCP is not a ratings product. Please visit kcp.kbra.com for more information. Follow CREative Media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cre-media Instagram: https://instagram.com/cre_mediagroup Minja Yan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/minjayan/ Podcast Audience LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13884501/ Please contact us here: https://www.cre-media.com/contact

In KBRA's inaugural Muni Spotlight Series episode, Van Hesser, Chief Strategist at KBRA, Karen Daly, Head of Public Finance/Financial Guarantors, Harvey Zachem, Managing Director, and Peter Scherer, Associate, discuss the American consumer, retail sales activity and observations about KBRA's sales tax rated portfolio. COVID-19 has certainly left its mark economically, but highly effective vaccines give real hope to a normal return in 2021. As always, KBRA will continue to monitor its portfolio on a case by case basis.

In this episode of KBRA's Structured Finance Outlook series, Brian Ford, Senior Director and head of KBRA's Structured Finance Research, leads the discussion on the 2021 Outlook for the ABS sector. He is joined by Rosemary Kelley, head of KBRA's ABS team, Eric Neglia, a managing director in our ABS Consumer team, and Cecil Smart, a managing director in KBRA's commercial ABS department. The team examines recent ABS credit trends, spread performance, supply expectations, rating changes, as well as recent performance in our auto loan and unsecured consumer loan indices, and more.

Senior Directors Ashley Phillips and Brian Ropp of KBRA's Financial Institutions group take us through the second episode of Bank Compendium Insights, which features a discussion around our latest view of the U.S. banking sector during the current uncertain environment due to the coronavirus pandemic. They share observations about our long-term rated banking universe, focusing on key performance and credit metrics, as well as KBRA's expectations for the banking industry as the economic situation plays out over the next several quarters. Ashley Phillips has been an analyst with KBRA for 8 years, working in various sectors, with a focus on U.S. banks. She is the Maryland office Team Leader and manages the compendium effort each quarter. Brian Ropp, who more recently joined KBRA's team, previously served as CFO of a community bank. His background includes fifteen years as a buy-side analyst where he covered a variety of industries, but specifically banks through the GFC. Join Our Webinar: KBRA's U.S. Banking Sector Update Webinar Thursday, November 19, at 10:00 AM EST Click here to learn more and register for free: https://bit.ly/kbraBCI3Q2020

In this episode of ESG Talks, KBRA's CEO, Jim Nadler interviews KBRA board member, Lois Scott, on trends in corporate diversity and inclusion initiatives. Lois has held various roles in both the private and public sectors throughout her extensive career. From 2011 to 2015, Lois served as CFO for the city of Chicago under Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and was the first woman to serve in that capacity. Lois has long been a champion for women in business and was one of the co-founders of the professional organization, Women in Public Finance. Today, Lois is president of Epoch Advisors and serves on various corporate boards, including KBRA. She is also involved with many charities and other philanthropic causes.

Senior Directors Ashley Phillips and Brian Ropp of KBRA's Financial Institutions group take us through the inaugural episode of Bank Compendium Insights, which features a discussion around our latest view of the U.S. banking sector during the current difficult environment due to the coronavirus pandemic. They share observations about our long-term rated banking universe, focusing on key performance and credit metrics, as well as KBRA's expectations for the banking industry as the economic situation plays out over the next several quarters. Ashley Phillips, who has been an analyst with KBRA for 8 years, is the Maryland office Team Leader and organizes the compendium effort each quarter. Brian Ropp, who recently joined KBRA's team, previously served as CFO of a community bank. His background includes fifteen years as a buy-side analyst where he covered a variety of industries but specifically Banks through the GFC.

Our latest interview features Peter Giacone, Managing Director and Global Head of Insurance at Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), who joined us to discuss how investor appetites have changed due to the coronavirus pandemic and what this means for the insurance-linked securities (ILS) sector. Giacone explained that financial markets in general are seeing large flows from investors and that part of this interest is being shown in the insurance and reinsurance space. But with traditional investment classes highly volatile, institutional investors have been looking closely at alternatives, especially those that exhibit lower correlation. As a result, the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market and direct investments into reinsurance risk bearing vehicles or funds are looking incredibly attractive at this time. Giacone said that, "People have to adapt and that spells opportunity. I think this asset class in particular is going to start to look more and more attractive. "A longer-term investor is going to look at ILS and say, you may have some temporary dislocations in the market when you have a high correlation, but over the long-term they're going to see that this is an asset class that clearly behaves completely independent of what's going on in other markets for the most part and therefore provides a tremendous opportunity." We also discussed the use of ratings in ILS markets and catastrophe bonds, with Giacone explaining that he sees the potential for entire portfolios of ILS assets to be rated, rather than just individual bonds and he described how this could prove attractive to major investors such as life insurers.

Our inaugural episode focuses on cybersecurity, a prominent governance risk within the ESG framework. Bill Cox, Global Head of Corporate, Financial and Government Ratings at KBRA interviews KBRA's Chairman and founder, Jules Kroll, the pioneer of the modern investigations, intelligence, and corporate security industry. “What we have today is we have more violations of privacy, we have more stealing, we have more involvements with nation-states—either directly or through proxies,” Kroll said. “That's why it feels like there's a lot more going on because there is a lot more going on.”

In this episode, Bill Cox, Global Head of Corporate, Financial, and Government Ratings at KBRA speaks with Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, KBRA's Head of Sovereign Ratings, about emerging market (EM) sovereign credit challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While the crisis is unusual in its breadth across so many EM economies, the impact is highly differentiated. Other topics discussed include how China's role as well as changes in lender behaviors and growing pandemic-related debt burdens make the COVID-19 economic disruption different than the Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s.

In this edition of KBRA's podcast series, Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, Head of Sovereign Ratings at KBRA, speaks with Ethan Heisler, editor-in-chief of The Bank Treasury Newsletter, about the prospects for negative rates in the U.S. and the U.K.  Ethan and Joan discuss how capital markets may be impacted by negative interest rate policy, and consider the plusses and minuses in light of the COVID-19 pandemic's economic disruption.

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