Current Account with Clay Lowery

In this episode of  Current Account , Clay provides an update on the Supreme Court case challenging President Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify sweeping tariffs. Clay explains how the administration relied on IEEPA to impose tariffs on nearly all imported goods, including a 10 percent baseline tariff on all countries - with targeted measures on Mexic...

In this episode of  Current Account , Clay is joined by Ashok Bhundia, IIF Deputy Chief Economist and Head of Asia Macroeconomic Research, to discuss Asia’s global economic and geopolitical trends. The conversation focuses on how Asian economies are responding to evolving U.S.–China trade negotiations and strategic competition. Clay and Ashok explore the increasing importance of digital finance in...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Kezia McKeague, Regional Director for Latin America at McLarty Associates and IIF's Martín Castellano, Head of Latin America Research, to unpack the results and implications of Argentina’s recent midterm elections. The conversation explores President Javier Milei’s strengthened political mandate, the role of U.S. financial support in shaping th...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Gracelin Baskaran, Director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), to discuss a topic on the rise: critical minerals and rare earths. First, Gracelin explains the difference between critical minerals and rare earths and their relative importance as resources. The discussion that f...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay talks to Sim Tshabalala, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Standard Bank Group and Chair of the B20 South Africa Finance & Infrastructure Task Force, to discuss a variety of topics within the G20 and B20 agenda. Clay and Sim first discuss takeaways from the 2025 IMF/World Bank and IIF Annual Meetings, including an underlying theme of unexpected hope,...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay previews a variety of themes and topics poised to be the center of many discussions during the upcoming 2025 IIF Annual Membership Meeting and IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings. Clay breaks down the major themes from the upcoming meetings into three main categories: (1) Risks, such as geopolitical risk, policy uncertainty and the rise of global debt; (2) Oppor...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Ziad Haider, Partner and Global Director of Geopolitics, Singapore, McKinsey & Co., to discuss one of the most important topics in the financial services industry: Geopolitics. Clay and Ziad begin the podcast by detailing the increased prominence of geopolitics in recent years, before discussing the role of resilience for financial services...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Managing Director and Chief Economist, Marcello Estevão, to give an update on the Federal Reserve and discuss its recent decision to make a 25-basis point rate cut. Clay and Marcello begin by discussing the rate cut and what it signifies for the U.S. economy as a whole, including the state of inflation, unemployment and overall growth. Th...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Andrés Portilla, Managing Director of Regulatory Affairs, and Katie Rismanchi, Deputy Director of Regulatory Affairs, to talk about banking supervision - namely developments and recent trends in how supervision is approached across the globe. The discussion begins with a key question: Why is banking supervision important? The podcast cont...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Scott Lee, IIF's Deputy Director and Senior Counsel in the Digital Finance department, to discuss recent developments in the world of digital asset regulation and legislation. Clay and Scott begin with the status and background on three pieces of digital asset legislation in the U.S.: The GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act and the Anti-CBDC Surveillan...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Don Kohn, the Robert V. Roosa Chair in International Economics and a Senior Fellow in the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution, to discuss recent developments and the overarching role of the Federal Reserve - the central bank of the United States. Don and Clay begin with the traditional importance of the Fed's independence from...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's President and CEO, Tim Adams, to assess key takeaways from the first half of 2025, with an eye on major themes to keep track of for the remainder of the year. Tim begins by providing a brief highlight of his recent travels across the globe and their subsequent conversations before jumping into a host of crucial topics in the financial ind...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Mark Sobel, a Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and U.S. Chairman at the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), and Josh Lipsky the Chair of International Economics at the Atlantic Council and Senior Director of the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center, to discuss the dollar and t...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay dives into a few recent developments coming out of Washington surrounding the Trump Administration's economic policy - aimed at strengthening financial stability and economic growth. He divides the developments into three categories: Trade and tariffs, tax incentives and a focus on deregulation. Clay analyzes the categories by detailing the recent history o...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Conan French, IIF Director of Digital Finance, to discuss recent shifts and developments in digital payments and fraud. Conan starts with where the payments landscape stands at this moment before diving into the ongoing status of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, how tech enabled fraud has developed alon...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Carsten Brzeski, the Global Head of Macro at ING Research, to discuss developments in the German economy following the recent federal elections - held in February 2025. Clay and Carsten begin with notable changes in the economy since the elections were held before analyzing the recent redefinition of Germany's debt brake, how this constitutiona...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by two IIF colleagues, Garbis Iradian, Chief Economist for the MENA region, and Ivan Burgara, Economist, to give updates on the greater Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and recent developments in oil markets. The discussion begins with a brief summary of recent events in the region before narrowing in on Egypt and how the country looks t...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay gives an update on the current state of the U.S. tariff policies, namely with reaction and implications of the April 2nd "Liberation Day" tariff announcements. Clay begins with a scene-setting of what tariffs are currently in place and on hold, before providing a framework for how the current Trump Administration may be approaching tariff implemen...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security, to discuss U.S. foreign policy as President Trump wraps up his first official foreign visit this term. Clay and Richard begin with takeaways from President Trump's trip to the Middle East, what the White House may be thinking in relation to Iran and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Ashok Bhundia, IIF's Deputy Chief Economist, to discuss developments in the U.S. Treasury markets in reaction to the recent implementations of tariff and trade policies by the United States. Clay and Ashok walk through the ripple effects of the April 2nd "Liberation Day" and ensuing seven-day tariff pause, how the market disruption co...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by David Ljunggren, a Correspondent covering politics for Reuters in Canada, to discuss the 2025 Candian Federal Election held on April 28. Clay and David begin with the results of the election, which saw Mark Carney of the Liberal Party become the country's 24th Prime Minister. After, the discussion centers on events leading up to the election, i...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay recaps a busy week in Washington, centered around the 2025 Spring Meetings hosted by the IMF, World Bank and IIF. Clay begins by analyzing potentially the largest focal point of the meetings: Trade. To help elaborate on some of the discussions, the episode features a number of snippets from speakers at the IIF Global Outlook Forum, highlighted by U.S. Secre...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Eugene Ludwig, Founder and CEO of Ludwig Advisors, to discuss a variety of updates within financial regulation - specifically those in the spotlight as President Trump continues to fill his regulatory cabinet. Clay and Gene start the discussion by assessing how the current administration seems to be approaching regulation, before diving into to...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Rebecca Patterson, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and globally recognized investor and economic researcher, to discuss a potential new feature of the Trump Administration - A Mar-a-Lago Accord. Clay and Rebecca begin by explaining potential motives behind such an accord, followed by detailing the process of making it a realit...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Jenny Cosco, Global Head of Government Relations & Regulatory Strategy at LSEG, to discuss recent trends related to market risk and vulnerability. Jenny and Clay discuss some of the key market trends in 2025, how deeply volatile trends could be the pattern of the future, how markets seem to be combating volatility with resilience, regulator...