Current Account with Clay Lowery

As AI rapidly reshapes the cybersecurity landscape, cyber risk is becoming an increasingly important concern for financial stability. In this episode of Current Account , Clay is joined by Sarah Breeden, Deputy Governor for Financial Stability at the Bank of England, to examine how financial institutions and regulators can respond. They discuss the importance of cyber hygiene, rapidly identifying...

A surprising comeback has given President Lula a historic fourth term, but governing Brazil may prove more difficult than winning the election. In this episode of Current Account , Clay is joined by Christopher Garman, Managing Director for the Americas at Eurasia Group, to unpack what drove Lula’s victory and what comes next. They discuss the fiscal and economic challenges facing the new administ...

France is facing a pivotal moment as political gridlock, mounting fiscal pressures, and public unrest converge ahead of next year’s presidential election. In this episode of Current Account , Clay is joined by Guillaume de Calignon, an international economics journalist at Les Echos, to unpack the forces driving France’s political and economic uncertainty. They discuss the roots of the country’s r...

From artificial intelligence to sovereign debt and defense finance, a wide range of risks and opportunities dominated discussions in Bangkok. In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Brad Carr, Executive for Geopolitical Risk at National Australia Bank, to reflect on the major themes emerging from the 2026 IIF Annual Membership Meeting and IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings. They explore...

As global financial leaders gather in Bangkok, attention is turning to the opportunities and challenges shaping Thailand and Southeast Asia. In this episode of Current Account , Clay is joined by Randy Thanthong-Knight, Bangkok Bureau Chief at Bloomberg News, to preview the conversations surrounding the IIF Annual Membership Meeting and IMF-World Bank meetings. They explore Thailand’s challenge of...

With the U.S. midterm elections just weeks away, control of Congress hangs in the balance amid growing voter frustration over the economy, affordability, and the direction of the country. In this episode of Current Account , Clay Lowery is joined by Amy Walter, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of The Cook Report with Amy Walter, to assess the political landscape ahead of Election Day. They discuss wh...

As the world’s two largest economies navigate an increasingly complex relationship, the second 2026 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping last week offered a fresh window into the future of competition and cooperation between Washington and Beijing. In this episode of Current Account , Clay is joined by Paul Haenle, Managing Director and Head of APAC Policy an...

Defense finance is rapidly moving from a niche policy topic to a central challenge for governments, investors, and financial institutions. In this episode of Current Account , Clay is joined by Wendy Gilmour, Vice Chair of the Conference of Defence Associations Institute and former NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment, and Jakub Karnowski, CEO of KredoBank, to explore how countr...

The relationship between the United States and Canada has long been defined by deep economic ties, shared security interests, and highly integrated supply chains. In this episode of Current Account , Clay is joined by Michael von Herff, Founder and Managing Partner of PAA Advisory, to examine the recent escalation in trade tensions between the two countries. They discuss how a cycle of tariffs and...

As markets return from the summer with a series of surprises, investors are grappling with a changing economic landscape. In this episode of Current Account , Clay is joined by Marcello Estevão, Chief Economist and Managing Director at the IIF, to unpack three of the biggest stories shaping global markets: rising long-term bond yields, the joint U.S.-Japan intervention to support the yen, and the...

Can regulators promote growth and competitiveness while preserving financial stability? In this episode of Current Account , Clay is joined by IIF's Kyle Grieser, Director, Regulatory Affairs, and Miguel Lobo, Policy Advisor, to examine two major developments shaping the future of banking regulation: the ongoing implementation of Basel III and the European Commission’s new banking competitiveness...

As geopolitical tensions reshape security priorities across the Atlantic, defense has become an increasingly important economic and financial issue. In this episode of Current Account, Clay Lowery is joined by Dr. Torrey Taussig, Director of and a Senior Fellow at the Transatlantic Security Initiative in the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, to unpack the outcomes of t...

The conflict involving Iran has entered another period of uncertainty, with diplomatic efforts faltering and regional tensions rising once again. In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Hal Brands, professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, to assess the latest developments and what they could mean for the Middle East...

As frontier AI models become more powerful, concerns about cybersecurity risks are moving to the forefront of policy and business discussions. In this episode of Current Account , Clay is joined by Martin Boer, General Manager and Chief Representative for Europe at the IIF, to examine how advances in AI could reshape the cyber threat landscape. They discuss why security experts are paying close at...

Trade policy is back at the center of the economic conversation. In this episode of Current Account , Clay examines a series of major developments that could reshape the U.S. trade landscape in the months ahead. He breaks down the administration’s efforts to rebuild broad tariff authority following February's Supreme Court ruling, the growing role of Section 301, Section 122, and Section 232 trade...

A new era at the Federal Reserve is underway. In this episode of Current Account , Clay is joined by Dr. Alexis Crow, Partner and Chief Economist at PwC, to examine what leadership under Chair Kevin Warsh could mean for U.S. monetary policy and global markets. As the Fed prepares for its first meeting under new leadership, they explore competing pressures around interest rates, inflation, and poli...

Latin America is entering a pivotal election cycle with major implications for policy, markets, and geopolitics. In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by the IIF's Martín Castellano, Head of Latin America Research, and Paola Figueroa, Head of Frontier Latin America Research, to break down key races in Peru, Colombia, and Brazil. They explore what recent results reveal about political...

How has banking fundamentally changed over the past decade? In this episode of  Current Account , Clay sits down with Christiana Riley, CEO and President of Santander U.S., to reflect on the forces reshaping financial services over the past decade. They explore how banks have adapted to a more volatile environment shaped by higher interest rates, geopolitical tension, and rapid technological chang...

As 2026 reaches its midpoint, the global economic outlook is growing more uncertain. In this episode of Current Account , Clay is joined by the IIF's Marcello Estevão, Chief Economist and Managing Director, and Jonathan Fortun, Senior Economist, to unpack the latest Capital Flows Report and what it reveals about shifting growth, capital movements, and policy pressures. They examine how geopolitica...

As U.S. and Chinese leaders meet in Beijing, the future of the world’s most important economic relationship hangs in the balance. In this episode of Current Account , Clay is joined by Evan Medeiros, a professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and former director at the White House National Security Council, to assess what is at stake in the latest round of talks and what...

In this episode of Current Account , Clay is joined by Stephen Myrow, Managing Partner of Beacon Policy Advisors, to take stock of where the U.S. midterm elections stand six months out - and why they matter far beyond Washington. They discuss why the House has emerged as the central battleground, how the Senate map has quietly become more competitive, and what a potential shift in control could me...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Mona Yacoubian, Director of the Middle East Program at CSIS, to unpack what the current phase of negotiations to deescalate the conflict in Iran is really telling us. They discuss how Iran is viewing its leverage, why energy disruption remains central to Tehran’s strategy, and how regional dynamics, particularly involving Lebanon and regional p...

In this episode of  Current Account , Clay is joined by Isabelle Mateos y Lago, Chief Economist at BNP Paribas, who shares her perspective from conversations across Spring Meetings and brings years of experience at the intersection of economics, geopolitics, and markets. Together, they assess if discussions around growth, inflation, and monetary policy are being overshadowed by events in the Middl...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Jayee Koffey, Chief Global Affairs Officer at BNY, to discuss how firms are balancing global efficiency with mounting pressure to localize, de‑risk, and align more closely with national priorities, particularly in strategic sectors such as energy, technology, and finance. The conversation focuses on how companies are embedding geopolitical awar...

In this episode of  Current Account , Clay is joined by Helima Croft, Managing Director and Head of Global Commodity Strategy at RBC Capital Markets, to discuss the conflict in Iran and the resulting market implications as the conflict enters its fourth week. With continued attacks on oil and gas infrastructure across the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz still nearly shut, global markets are confront...