Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee

“We’re at a reasonable balance now.” That’s the view of Stephen Ketchum, founder and CEO of Sound Point Capital Management, regarding the state of credit markets in June on the latest edition of the ‘Credit Exchange’ podcast with Lisa Lee. Sound Point, an alternative asset manager with over USD 43bn in AUM, de-risked its portfolio earlier this year, when the firm felt there was a little bit too mu...

While private credit broadly has showcased resilience and strength, “under the surface, not everything is as rosy,” according to James Reynolds, global co-head of private credit at Goldman Sachs. Reynolds spoke with Lisa Lee, managing director at Creditflux and editor-at-large at Debtwire , at this year’s Debtwire Private Credit Forum Europe in London on 17 June. Goldman has started tracking the d...

The mood at the Global ABS 2025 structured credit industry confab this week was positive, according to bankers, asset managers and investors at the Barcelona conference. Taped (mostly) live in Spain, Credit Exchange host Lisa Lee caught up with guests from Bank of America, hedge fund King Street, Blackstone and Federated Hermes. Alex Batchvarov, managing director, global research at Bank of Americ...

The M&A market is normalising, said Matt Theodorakis, co-head of European direct lending at Ares, in the latest ‘Credit Exchange’ podcast, recorded at the SuperReturn International conference in Berlin, Germany. “People are looking to do deals going forward” after taking a pause following ‘Liberation Day’, Theodorakis told host Lisa Lee, managing editor at Creditflux. Investors – limited partn...

Investors aren’t being paid enough a premium for the risks in US corporate credit, said Bryan Whalen, chief investment officer of fixed income at TCW, on the latest ‘Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee’ podcast. Whalen, who oversees USD 180bn in fixed income assets, contends investment-grade corporate credit spreads should be paying 50% more than they are. Investors should be getting 120 basis points of...

“Look at credit markets, they behaved quite differently this time,” said Eddie O’Neill, co-head of global liquid credit at KKR, about the period of volatility that whipped global financial markets in April. “They were very stable.” When equity markets were volatile, credit markets did see some selling off but in a very orderly repricing of risk. There was “no blood in the streets, no sustained buy...

People fail to give the private equity funds the credit they deserve, said Susan Kasser, head of Neuberger Berman Private Debt, on the latest ‘Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee’ podcast. Whilst in terms of investment opportunities, it has been a less productive start to the year, private equity funds have found interesting investment opportunities. Neuberger Berman has already committed to financing a...

Private credit is fast growing, and will take market share away from the public leveraged finance markets, Blue Owl’s co-president Craig Packer told host Lisa Lee on the Credit Exchange podcast. The direct lending segment that competes with leveraged loans and high-yield bonds will become 45%, maybe as much as 50%, of the leveraged finance market over a five year period. That’s raising questions a...

Volatility creates opportunity, Michael Zawadzki, global CIO of Blackstone Credit & Insurance, told host Lisa Lee on the Credit Exchange podcast. “Stick with the fundamentals that have been working for us and look to play offense where volatility creates opportunity,” said Zawadzki. In the seven or eight days following the 2 April tariff announcement, Blackstone traded over USD 5 billion of li...

The expected M&A rebound may take longer to materialise, but it will come, Vivek Bantwal, co-head of global private credit at Goldman Sachs, said on the Credit Exchange podcast. Both public markets and private markets have a place, and in some areas, there’s been a blurring of the lines between the two, Bantwal told Lisa Lee, the managing editor of Creditflux. Given Goldman’s role at the centr...

The Trump administration chose a shock-and-awe approach to begin tariff negotiations, and backpedalling from the more extreme stances is the right decision, said Jonathan Dorfman, co-founder and CIO of alternative credit manager Napier Park Global Capital, on the latest ‘Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee’ podcast. Regardless, it’s clear there will be some tariffs, and credit investors should take that...

For private credit, the best dealmaking times are when there’s more volatility, says Mattis Poetter, chief investment officer of leading European private credit firm Arcmont Asset Management, on the latest edition of the ‘Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee’ podcast. “Volatility is generally a very good thing for us in terms of dealmaking and new underwriting,” Poetter told host Lisa Lee, managing edito...

The markets are experiencing a bumpier road than expected on January 1st, said Daniel Pietrzak, global head of private credit at KKR, on the latest issue of the Credit Exchange podcast. Markets have shifted in the past eight weeks, or from the election in November, but the economy still remains in pretty good shape, Pietrzak told Lisa Lee, managing editor at Creditflux. KKR is starting to see a co...

Recent volatility has opened up fresh opportunities in credit, says John Wright, global head of credit at Bain Capital, in the latest “Credit Exchange” podcast. Wright spoke with Lisa Lee, the managing editor at Creditflux, on his expectations for spread direction – wider, he believes – and compelling opportunities in both public and private debt. “Uncertainty begets wider spreads, and wider sprea...

We’re on the cusp of profound change in Europe, says Tristram Leach, co-head of European credit at Apollo Global Management, in the latest “Credit Exchange” podcast. Leach spoke with Lisa Lee, the managing editor at Creditflux, on how the degree of policy uncertainty at a global level has driven a fundamental re-evaluation of how Europe needs to conduct itself. Germany, in particular, is looking t...

Mark Jenkins, head of global credit at Carlyle, speaks with Creditflux's managing editor Lisa Lee in the latest edition of the Credit Exchange podcast, about the vast growth potential in asset-backed and investment-grade private credit to a roughly $23 trillion market as bank retreat from the space. IG private credit is gaining traction with institutional investors because they are able to get a p...

In the latest edition of Credit Exchange podcast, Mike Dennis, co-head of European credit at Ares Management, speaks with Creditflux's managing editor Lisa Lee about Ares’s record-setting private credit fundraise for direct lending and opportunities to invest in Europe. Investors are still excited about the opportunity set in Europe, evidenced by Ares’s EUR 30bn direct lending fund which attracted...

In the latest edition of Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee, Alan Schrager, senior managing partner of Oak Hill Advisors, speaks with Creditflux's managing editor Lisa Lee about the cross-currents in credit markets which is blazing hot with spreads going tighter but there’s issues of tariffs, immigration reform and defaults. Spreads have gone tighter in many markets, not only credit or private credit,...

On this inaugural episode of Credit Exchange, host Lisa Lee sits down with Fortress co-CEO Drew McKnight who sees the best play of 2025 in asset-based finance as banks become increasingly disintermediated. While President Donald Trump's win may loosen bank regulations, banks will still need to comply with Basel III and shore up liquidity to deal with asset-liability mismatches. Fortress is cautiou...

Credit Exchange with Lisa Lee. Explore the latest trends in global credit markets with the biggest movers and shapers on Wall Street and the City, hosted by financial reporting veteran Lisa Lee.