Jessica Lehmann, Head of IG & EM Syndicate at HSBC, joins Shankar Ramakrishnan and Bruce Clark of IGM to discuss how the recent surge and intraday volatility in Treasury yields has dampened U.S. investment-grade issuance, with investors becoming more selective and demanding higher concessions, especially amid heavy TMT supply and jumbo deals like Skydance.

Lehmann notes spreads remain tight (around 83) because all-in yields are still attractive, but argues risks are skewed toward wider spreads into year-end given macro volatility, Middle East conflict, inflation, elections, and potential Fed hikes, alongside compressed Q4 issuance windows.

She says $2 trillion in 2024 IG supply is achievable (with $1.77 trillion already), emphasizing net new supply versus redemptions and coupons, and highlights technology and broader global, liability-driven demand reshaping execution and the investor base.

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Paul Benson, Head of Systematic Fixed Income at Insight Investment, joins hosts Shankar Ramakrishnan and Bruce Clark of IGM to discuss recent high-yield market turbulence amid rising Treasury yields and risk aversion, and why “high yield is back” after years of low rates.

Benson explains systematic (quantitative) fixed income as model-driven investing that reduces discretionary, emotion-led decisions and seeks alpha through cross-sectional dispersion across large bond universes. He argues today’s spreads and default expectations are often misunderstood in diversified indices, citing post-GFC rolling default rates and recovery rates that imply lower loss given default versus compensation from spreads, alongside improved issuer quality and reduced liquidity premia due to ETFs and portfolio trading.

The conversation also covers rate uncertainty, issuance dynamics, carry and pull-to-par, and career advice emphasizing curiosity, problem-solving, competitiveness, and critical thinking with AI.

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Brad Scott, Head of Debt Capital Markets in Australia at Bank of China, joins Shankar Ramakrishnan and Bruce Clark of IGM to discuss the rapid growth and increasing globalization of the Australian dollar bond market, including record issuance and the expanding role of non-Australian “kangaroo” issuers across sectors.

Scott explains key drivers such as issuer and investor diversification, improved market depth and liquidity, higher yields attracting inflows, and the rising importance of Asian demand, while noting the market’s limits in absorbing very large corporate deals like Alphabet’s A$5.5 billion issue.

The conversation covers RBA rate hikes, cross-currency swap dynamics, volatility and U.S. political risk impacts, Australia’s compulsory superannuation system as a structural support, growth in Tier 2 and hybrid issuance tied to regulatory changes and energy transition capex, and Scott’s career advice for graduates pursuing DCM.

Ivan Hrazdira, Head of Debt Capital Markets at Credit Agricole, joins hosts Shankar Ramakrishnan and Bruce Clark to discuss how Fed policy, government actions, and election outcomes may affect credit markets.

They review the market’s delayed digestion of the latest Fed decision, skepticism about an October hike so close to the midterms, and unusually strong issuance nearing $1.7T amid tight spreads and high investor engagement.

Hrazdira argues deficits are a major driver of rates and liquidity, and that today’s “high rate, low volatility” environment is key to tight credit. They assess why elections usually aren’t volatility events, why this cycle could differ, the Iran conflict’s role in public confidence, AI funding diversification beyond dollars, and what DCM recruiters seek: IQ, EQ, and work ethic.

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Dean Chamberlain, CEO of Mischler Financial, joins the Credit Matters Podcast to discuss the role of minority broker-dealers in U.S. bond markets, including helping issuers meet diversity objectives, serving as co- or lead bookrunners, and widening bond distribution with a stickier investor base.

He shares the history of service-disabled veteran-owned firms, Mischler’s origins in California legislation, and how the firm scaled post–global financial crisis by recapitalizing, expanding institutional coverage across public-sector, middle-market, and large asset-manager clients, and investing in technology, execution, and strong operations/compliance.

Dean describes military discipline shaping client service and culture, veteran recruiting and training pipelines, and managing deployments. He outlines strategic partnerships (including GTS, a global bank, and specialty finance) and addresses ESG/DEI label shifts by emphasizing value-add.

He also reflects on 9/11’s impact and discusses issuance, AI-related funding needs, and rate uncertainty with hosts Shankar Ramakrishnan and Bruce Clark of IGM.

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In the latest episode of "Credit Matters," Shankar Ramakrishnan (Head of U.S. Credit & Market Engagement, IGM) and Bruce Clark (Head of Rates Market Coverage, IGM) speak with Matthew Bisanz (Financial Regulatory Partner, Mayer Brown) about credit risk transfers - also known as CRT/CRS in the U.S. and SRT in Europe - and how banks sell first-loss credit exposure via structured notes without selling the underlying loans to obtain regulatory capital relief.

Matthew explains why the regional banking crisis was more about liquidity preparedness and discount window frictions than capital shortfalls, and expects greater regulatory focus on liquidity and discount window operations.

The discussion covers uninsured depositor discipline, the Fed’s role as a backstop for the real economy, CRT pricing and maturities, key U.S. regulatory clarifications enabling debt-note structures, limits on insurance-company participation, market size and transparency concerns, and why specialization is key for legal careers as AI advances.

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In the latest episode of "Credit Matters", Pranav Gupta (MD IG Syndicate, Morgan Stanley) joins Shankar Ramakrishnan and Bruce Clark to discuss record primary dollar bond issuance driven by U.S. and Yankee banks, with the big six U.S. banks nearing $150 billion by Q3 and already surpassing last year.

Gupta explains how renewed Middle East escalation, including Red Sea attacks, has pushed the 10-year Treasury to around 4.70 and added inflation uncertainty ahead of an upcoming Fed meeting, while strong U.S. growth and persistent inflows keep investment-grade spreads tight.

They cover why issuers have accepted “higher for longer,” the return of longer-dated issuance, key supply drivers (CapEx, M&A, loan growth), preferred Tier 1 refinancing and call dynamics, funding diversification into non-USD markets, improving sentiment toward BDC/private credit issuance, and faster syndication enabled by market structure and technology.

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In the latest episode of "Credit Matters," Stephen Burgess (Head of Leveraged Finance, U.S. Bancorp.) joins Shankar and Bruce to discuss why high-yield bond and leveraged loan spreads are near record tights as investors lock in attractive all-in yields.

Stephen shares his view that rates may remain relatively flat for a prolonged period, how a new Fed posture could tighten financial conditions without major rate moves, and what that could mean for spreads and defaults.

They examine why defaults remain historically low (strong fundamentals, legacy low-coupon debt, and liability management exercises), how the market differentiates between BB and CCC risk, and the surge in issuance—driven by refinancings and rapidly growing AI/data-center financing with lease-backed structures and guarantees—along with key sector risks, fallen angels, and how AI may change banking workflows.

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