We discuss how differences in regional regulatory regimes and market structures affect life insurers’ allocations to private credit investments, and lay out those investments’ benefits and risks.

Moody’s Ratings analysts explain why Japan’s regional banks are vulnerable to yield-curve steepening and predict strong loan growth, and higher funding costs, for India’s non-bank finance companies.

As the regulatory environment continues to evolve, US and European banks have sought regulatory capital relief by offloading the credit risk of loans they make via special types of transactions.

We talk to Joe Lyons of Bitsight about the growing risk from deepfakes in the age of GenAI.

Shortening the settlement cycle is a complex undertaking for a clearing house and its members, but once the transition is complete, it will reduce counterparty risk.

Alternative asset managers seek removal of barriers to private markets for individual investors. Regulators are supportive but also wary of potential dangers.

Companies have responded to weather-related losses and higher reconstruction costs with sharp increases in premiums and tighter policy terms, and some have exited high-risk regions.

Anthony Moro, CEO of Provenance Blockchain Foundation, joins us to talk about the technology and infrastructure developments shaping the future of financial asset tokenization.

Moody’s analysts explore green finance, discussing greenwashing risk, the EU green loan market, and how clear standards and rules – and blockchain technology – could play a positive role.

Basel 3.1 reforms will lead banks to apply high haircuts to unsustainably high property values and adjust mortgage risk weights to better differentiate between low-risk and high-risk loans.

As cyberattacks rise and AI poses new dangers, Moody’s analysts discuss banks’ own views of their cybersecurity defenses and explain the EU’s plan to rein in risks from third-party tech providers.

Our 2024 Banking System Outlooks show more European systems joining the US on negative as economies slow and loan performance weakens. China stays negative, while India is positive.

Swedish lender Klarna’s AI assistant is driving material credit improvement this year. In the US, disclosures from Wells Fargo point to what’s ahead for banks’ commercial real estate loan performance.

Over the next several years private credit in Europe will grow, largely because of companies’ substantial refinancing needs. But banks are already fighting to gain back market share.

We discuss the severe thunderstorms' rising insured costs. Plus: Earnings weakness in the Medicare Advantage business and US commercial real estate exposure of German banks.

Steve Tu, Farooq Khan and Petr Paklin of Moody's, with Joe Lyons of Bitsight, on how AI will change banks; On Fast Finance, we discuss Evergrande's liquidation and upcoming FHLBank reforms.

Cristiano Ventricelli explains how recent improvements to digital finance systems could help them gain scale. Plus, we discuss BlackRock’s recent acquisition and the SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Our global outlook for the sector remains negative for 2024, but the picture for non-bank finance companies is more varied than a year ago, with easing conditions in some markets and businesses.

Weak results in personal lines drive the negative outlook for property and casualty insurance, while life insurance benefits from higher interest rates.

James Eck and Brandan Holmes explain how rising physical climate-related claims complicate insurers' risk management; Olivier Panis discusses benefits for banks of enhanced climate change reporting.

The boost banks have enjoyed for the last two years will start to fade as high rates translate into higher funding costs and lower growth. But the outlook for banks is not so gloomy everywhere.

Reduced economic growth could lower financial institutions’ profitability, but there are also opportunities to sell retirement products and new forms of insurance.

Moody’s analysts discuss how lenders are managing the risks created by the end of the low-interest-rate era, and explore the favorable funding and liquidity characteristics of universal banks.

Private credit lenders built stores of capital that we expect will be put to work competing with banks to fund a new wave of leveraged buyouts. In the first segment of this episode, we discuss LBO competition and the risks it poses. Later, our guest lays out the concentration of private credit among a handful of giant asset managers building their own, largely self-contained lending ecosystems.