In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Douglas Beal, the Global Head of Social Impact and Just Transition in Financial Institutions at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), to discuss the recent COP29 meetings held in Baku, Azerbaijan. After discussing high-level takeaways from the conference, Clay and Doug shift the conversation to topics …

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Andreas Kluth, an opinion columnist for Bloomberg covering US diplomacy, national security and geopolitics, to discuss the ongoing political and economic developments in Germany. Clay and Andreas dive into how and why the coalition government recently collapsed, the accelerated election timetabl…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay dives into the long-awaited results of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Elections, which saw Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump secure his second term at helm, focusing on the economic strategy and fiscal policy implications of this outcome. Clay begins with the initial reaction to not only the o…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF Economist Jonathan Fortun to discuss recent economic and political developments in Japan. Clay and Jonathan discuss a brief overview of the recent series of elections in Japan, before diving into the Bank of Japan's recent measures, how recent events may impact international relations, the r…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay gives a live report from the 2024 IIF Annual Membership Meeting, with the help from a handful of IIF Staff members. Clay first reviews major themes, takeaways and discussions, including remarks from U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, before handing it off to his colleagues: Melanie Idler…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Adams to preview the 2024 IIF Annual Membership Meeting, taking place in Washington, D.C., from October 22-25. Clay and Tim look ahead at many topics that stand to be at the forefront of discussion, including thoughts and effects surrounding curren…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay revisits the upcoming Presidential Elections in the United States, this time with an eye on key policy themes and implementation from the two major party nominees: Current Vice President Kamala Harris (Democrat) and former President Donald Trump (Republican). The episode dives into where the race stands to d…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Sonja Gibbs, Managing Director of Global Policy Initiatives and Head of Sustainable Finance, to recap an eventful New York Climate Week. Clay and Sonja talk about the major themes surrounding this year's meetings, including balancing a Brown vs Green transition strategy, the role of privat…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Giovanna Faggionato, a reporter for Politico Europe who has extensive experience covering competition, to discuss the recent report given by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Clay and Giovanna discuss the report's key themes and takeaways, focused on a plan to make the European Union m…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Andrés Portilla, Managing Director of Regulatory Affairs and Richard Gray, Director of Prudential Policy, to revisit the topic of Basel III implementation. The podcast covers how the United States Federal Reserve may look to repropose implementing Basel III, what metrics are being suggeste…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's new Chief Economist and Managing Director, Marcello Estevão. Marcello joins the IIF with a plethora of experience in the financial industry, including stints at the World Bank, IMF, U.S. Federal Reserve Board, G20 Deputy for Brazil and many more. Clay and Marcello discuss a number of globa…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Gregory Daco, Chief Economist at EY, to discuss recent developments in the U.S. economy, including recapping the recent market volatility and the reasoning behind it, impact and potential inflationary measures on the economy moving forward, upcoming decisions for the Federal Reserve, forecasting…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay gives an update on the upcoming United States Presidential Elections on November 5th, following a number of developments in recent weeks. Clay discusses the impact of a variety of unprecedented events, including the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, sitting President Joe Biden backing…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Daniel Tannebaum, a Partner and Global Anti-Financial Crime Practice Leader at Oliver Wyman and Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, to provide a sanctions update amid the recent United States’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) escalation of the December 2023 sanctions package on Russia…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Guillaume de Calignon, a Journalist at Les Echos - a French financial newspaper headquartered in Paris - to discuss the results and implications of the recent French snap elections. Clay and Guillaume discuss why President Macron called for the elections, the results leading to a coalition gover…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Marcelo Carvalho, Global Head of Economics at BNP Paribas CIB, to discuss the recent decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) to cut interest rates. The episode includes discussing the thought process by the .25% rate cut, an unprecedented aspect of the ECB's decision, whether more rate cuts …

In this episode of Current Account, Clay recaps a variety of recent and important elections across the globe. The episode includes results and implications from elections in Mexico, India and South Africa, and how President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ANC Party, respectively, will respond to the results.…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Rebecca Patterson, a globally recognized investor and economic researcher and former chief investment strategist with over 25 years of studying the intersections of politics and policy with financial markets, to discuss a variety of currency; namely the Yen, the Dollar and the Yuan. The discussi…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Managing Director of Digital Finance, Jessica Renier, to discuss developments in artificial intelligence and the implications for the financial sector. Clay and Jessica discuss key takeaways from expert discussions during the recent IMF/World Bank Spring meetings, implementation strategy f…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay gives an update on the economic state of China. Topics include China's better-than-expected growth to begin 2024, adapting a new growth model and its implications, the economic impact of advancements in the energy industry, international ripple effects of China's monetary decisions, the potential path forwar…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF President and CEO Tim Adams to preview the 2024 IMF/World Bank Springs in Washington. Tim and Clay discuss the unique aspects of this iteration of the meetings, key themes and talking points, how crucial industry topics such as Artificial Intelligence, Sustainable Finance and Geopolitics wil…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Sonja Gibbs, Managing Director and Head of Sustainability, to discuss recent legislative actions in the New York State Senate around a proposed bill on sovereign debt. Sonja and Clay discuss the contents of the bill, titled the "Sovereign Debt Sustainability Act," the overall impact of the…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay revisits the banking turmoil of March 2023 and its lessons learned. The episode incudes a breakdown of how the turmoil began, including the incidents involving firms such as SVB and Credit Suisse, what the landscape looks like one year later, what impact these specific situations may have analyzing risk and …

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Martin Castellano, Head of Latin America Research, to discuss the present economic state of Mexico and the upcoming Mexican Presidential Elections after recently returning from an investor trip to the country. The discussion includes overall trends in Mexico, explaining the situation aroun…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Director of Sustainability Research, Emre Tiftik, to give an update on the current state of global debt. The podcast includes discussion on predominant trends on the current tally of over $310 trillion of global debt, outlook for the debt landscape in 2024, impact of geopolitics on debt, t…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Ugras Ulku, Head of Emerging Market Europe Research, and Elina Ribakova, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics, to give a detailed update of the economic impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on a global level. The discussion includes topics such as deta…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined again by IIF's Garbis Iradian, Chief Economist, Middle East & North Africa, and Ivan Burgara, Economist, to revisit the economic impact of the conflict in the Middle East. The trio discuss the likelihood and impact of two proposed scenarios: One in which the conflict is contained to the region and …

In this episode of Current Account, Clay looks at the economic impact of what a second Donald Trump presidential term may be. Joining Clay is Yuka Hayashi, a journalist specializing on trade and economic security matters with over three decades of experience, including stints at the Dow Jones Newswires and Wall Street Journal. Clay and Yuka discuss…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by David Sacks, Fellow, Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations to talk about the recent elections in Taiwan. The topics include an analysis on the election's proceedings and process, how the election impacts the relationships between the United States and China, the United States and Taiw…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay reviews the outlook of 2024 through the lens of geopolitical risk. He breaks down the analysis into three sections - or buckets: The ongoing conflicts across the world, the status of the US-China relationship and the pending worldwide elections. The podcast includes discussion on how these topics will impact…

In the first Current Account episode of 2024, Clay is joined by IIF's Sonja Gibbs, Managing Director, Global Policy Initiatives and Head of Sustainable Finance, to discuss the recent COP28 Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The discussion includes reviewing key topics discussed at the conference, the state of sustainability in the present day, …

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's President and CEO Tim Adams to recap key events in the financial industry throughout 2023 and projecting areas of focus for 2024. Topics include the development of artificial intelligence technology, industry reactions to turmoil, growth projections, topics in sustainable finance and more.…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay revisits the economic impact of the war between Russia and Ukraine. The episode includes an analysis of the sanctions regime's impact thus far, examining how Russia has altered its trade strategy and the overall impact on the Russian and Ukranian economies.

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by A.B. Stoddard, Columnist at The Bulwark, to discuss the upcoming U.S. Presidential Elections in November 2024. The episode includes analyzing the likely candidates, current President Joe Biden (Democrat) and former President Donald Trump (Republican), how each candidate will likely look to win m…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Garbis Iradian, Chief Economist for the Middle East and North Africa Region, and Ivan Burgara, Senior Research Analyst, to discuss the economic implications the current conflict in Israel may have. The discussion involves outlining two scenarios: One in which the conflict is contained to w…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Kezia McKeague, the Regional Director for Latin America at McLarty Associates, to discuss the current cycle of elections in Argentina and Latin America. The discussion includes identifying the two Argentine candidates facing off in a run-off election on November 19th, Sergio Massa and Javier Mil…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Managing Director of Regulatory Affairs, Andrés Portilla, and Director of Prudential Policy, Richard Gray, to talk about the Basel III Endgame. The discussion centers around describing Basel III, what the "endgame" means, what the next steps are across jurisdictions and more.…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay records live from the IIF's Annual Membership Meetings in Marrakech, Morocco. He is accompanied by colleagues to cover a variety of key issues talked about both at the IIF and IMF/World Bank meetings. Martin Boer, Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs, joins to talk about key regulatory issues, Jeremy McDani…

In this Episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Managing Director and Chief Economist Robin Brooks to take a look ahead at various global economic issues ahead of the Annual Meetings of the IMF, IIF and World Bank.

In this episode of Current Account, Clay breaks down a recent Executive Order from the Biden Administration focused on Outward Bound Investments. The episode features what the order details, what the impacts and implications it may have on the US-China relationship, Congressional reation within the United States and what the following steps may be.…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay recaps the recent G20 meetings in India, focusing on the topic of Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) reform. The discussion covers the US approach, what impacts MDB reform may have and how the upcoming IMF/World Bank meetings will discuss this topic.

Clay is joined by Rhodium's Logan Wright to talk about China and its economy since its post-pandemic reopening.

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by two IIF colleagues, Jeremy McDaniels, Deputy Director of Sustainable Finance and Katie Rismanchi, Deputy Director of Regulatory Affairs, to help explain the recent developments in the standards set by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB.) The discussion includes an explanation…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay takes a look at the current state of India. Topics broadly cover India's role as this year's G20 chair, what the upcoming Central Bank Governor and Finance Minister meetings may look like, reviewing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the United States and India's relationships with China a…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Nathan Sheets, Global Chief Economist at Citi, to talk about Japan. The discussion centers on a recent history of Japanese economy, what a transition from Gov. Kuroda to Gov. Ueda is looking like, explaining the policy of Yield Curve Control and its pros and cons and what the future may look lik…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay takes a look at the upcoming meetings in Paris. The Summit for a New Global Financing Pact takes place on June 22-23, and Clay talks about many of its key points, but focuses mainly on Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). Other topics include Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) reform, taxes and innovative financi…

In this week's episode of Current Account, Clay dives into a topic at the forefront of the minds of many - digital asset regulation in the United States. He begins by explaining what the recent developments have been, lawsuits filed by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a recent draft bill in Congress to establish a regulatory framework…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay touches on a variety of topics. First, he revisits the US Debt Ceiling and the Turkish Elections, highlights Banking Regulation security, Artificial Intelligence and China as the three major points of discussion in 2023 thus far and recaps recent IIF trips to Asia and Europe.…

Welcome to Current Account with Clay Lowery, the Executive Vice President of the Institute of International Finance, the global association of the financial industry. On Current Account, Clay talks about a variety of impactful topics in international finance, while integrating his background in US Politics and Policy where applicable. Topics on Cur…

In this episode of Current Account, Clay revisits the timely topic of the United States Debt Ceiling. He outlines what the "X date" is and why it is important, analyzes what each political party will be negotiating for, gives a variety of scenarios as to how the issue may be resolved and lays out the potential impact these outcomes may have at a gl…