Current Account with Clay Lowery

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Martin Boer, General Manager and Chief Representative, Europe, to discuss some of the recent developments captivating the European economy. Joining Clay from Brussels, Martin is able to dive into a number of key areas of focus in the region, including the path of Europe on the road to greater growth and competitiveness, potential implicat...

In this landmark 100th episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Gene Ma, Head of China Research and Chief Representative of the Asia/Pacific Region, to provide an update on China. Fresh off of the "Two Meetings" sessions, Clay and Gene first provide an update on economic trends from China, before analyzing a potential shift to a more consumption-led economy, how China is respo...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Jeffrey Rathke, President of the American-German Institute at John Hopkins University, as well as host of The Zeitgeist podcast, to discuss the results and implications of the recent elections in Germany. Clay and Jeff first recap the events that led to these elections back in November of 2024, before analyzing the results of a voter turnout no...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Martín Castellano, Head of LatAm Research, to discuss recent economic developments in Mexico, fresh off a recent investor trip to Mexico City. The discussion centers around the impact of President Sheinbaum's initial few months in office, response to recent actions and discussions led by the Trump administration, Mexico's outlook for grow...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay analyzes a topic gaining momentum in recent weeks - sovereign wealth funds and the potential of one in the United States. Clay first gives some background on sovereign wealth funds at large and examples of successful funds across the globe, before diving into three main points: How sovereign wealth funds are funded, what the objectives of these funds are an...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay discusses developments around the recent tariffs and threatened implemented by United States President Donald Trump on countries and regions such as Colombia, Canada, Mexico, China and the European Union. Clay dives into why and how the Trump administration may use tariffs as a bargaining tool in trade discussions, describing the International Emergency Eco...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's new Deputy Chief Economist, Ashok Bhundia, to discuss economic developments amid South Korea's recent political events. Clay and Ashok recap key points over recent months before discussing the impact these events have on both monetary and fiscal policy, how markets have reacted to the political uncertainty, the forthcoming process to gain...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay kicks off 2025 by looking ahead to agenda of the recently inaugurated 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump. This discussion includes highlighting key points such as economic strategy surrounding tariffs, inflation and trade relations, the ongoing nomination and confirmation process of many key cabinet members and potential recurring characteris...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay takes a look back at 2024 and some of the key topics and issues throughout the year. The summary includes four sections of highlight: The current and ongoing status of conflicts across the globe, a trend of anti-incumbency throughout recent global elections, a review of the economic year and how the incoming Trump administration will influence these and oth...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Managing Director of Digital Finance, Jessica Renier, to provide an update on digital assets and their development in recent months and years. Clay and Jessica provide a brief roadmap of progress in CBDCs, cryptocurrencies and tokenization technologies before discussing digital asset innovation from the official sector, various developmen...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Douglas Beal, the Global Head of Social Impact and Just Transition in Financial Institutions at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), to discuss the recent COP29 meetings held in Baku, Azerbaijan. After discussing high-level takeaways from the conference, Clay and Doug shift the conversation to topics such as explaining the "Just Transition"...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Andreas Kluth, an opinion columnist for Bloomberg covering US diplomacy, national security and geopolitics, to discuss the ongoing political and economic developments in Germany. Clay and Andreas dive into how and why the coalition government recently collapsed, the accelerated election timetable over the next few months, explain the "debt...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay dives into the long-awaited results of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Elections, which saw Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump secure his second term at helm, focusing on the economic strategy and fiscal policy implications of this outcome. Clay begins with the initial reaction to not only the outcome of the Presidential election, but the outco...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF Economist Jonathan Fortun to discuss recent economic and political developments in Japan. Clay and Jonathan discuss a brief overview of the recent series of elections in Japan, before diving into the Bank of Japan's recent measures, how recent events may impact international relations, the recent pattern of coalition governments in major ec...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay gives a live report from the 2024 IIF Annual Membership Meeting, with the help from a handful of IIF Staff members. Clay first reviews major themes, takeaways and discussions, including remarks from U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, before handing it off to his colleagues: Melanie Idler, an Associate Policy Advisor for Regulatory Affai...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Adams to preview the 2024 IIF Annual Membership Meeting, taking place in Washington, D.C., from October 22-25. Clay and Tim look ahead at many topics that stand to be at the forefront of discussion, including thoughts and effects surrounding current geopolitical risks, the state of emerging market...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay revisits the upcoming Presidential Elections in the United States, this time with an eye on key policy themes and implementation from the two major party nominees: Current Vice President Kamala Harris (Democrat) and former President Donald Trump (Republican). The episode dives into where the race stands to date, how Congressional elections will impact eithe...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Sonja Gibbs, Managing Director of Global Policy Initiatives and Head of Sustainable Finance, to recap an eventful New York Climate Week. Clay and Sonja talk about the major themes surrounding this year's meetings, including balancing a Brown vs Green transition strategy, the role of private and public funding in decarbonization efforts, h...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Giovanna Faggionato, a reporter for Politico Europe who has extensive experience covering competition, to discuss the recent report given by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Clay and Giovanna discuss the report's key themes and takeaways, focused on a plan to make the European Union more competitive economically. They discuss why Dra...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Andrés Portilla, Managing Director of Regulatory Affairs and Richard Gray, Director of Prudential Policy, to revisit the topic of Basel III implementation. The podcast covers how the United States Federal Reserve may look to repropose implementing Basel III, what metrics are being suggested in the reproposal process, the shifting implemen...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's new Chief Economist and Managing Director, Marcello Estevão. Marcello joins the IIF with a plethora of experience in the financial industry, including stints at the World Bank, IMF, U.S. Federal Reserve Board, G20 Deputy for Brazil and many more. Clay and Marcello discuss a number of global economic topics at the macro level, including an...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Gregory Daco, Chief Economist at EY, to discuss recent developments in the U.S. economy, including recapping the recent market volatility and the reasoning behind it, impact and potential inflationary measures on the economy moving forward, upcoming decisions for the Federal Reserve, forecasting the future of the dollar and more. This IIF Podca...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay gives an update on the upcoming United States Presidential Elections on November 5th, following a number of developments in recent weeks. Clay discusses the impact of a variety of unprecedented events, including the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, sitting President Joe Biden backing down from seeking a second term in office, how cu...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Daniel Tannebaum, a Partner and Global Anti-Financial Crime Practice Leader at Oliver Wyman and Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, to provide a sanctions update amid the recent United States’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) escalation of the December 2023 sanctions package on Russia. The episode begins with an explanation of what t...

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Guillaume de Calignon, a Journalist at Les Echos - a French financial newspaper headquartered in Paris - to discuss the results and implications of the recent French snap elections. Clay and Guillaume discuss why President Macron called for the elections, the results leading to a coalition government, impact it may have on French economic polic...