Overview
Credit markets are entering a period of greater uncertainty as geopolitical developments, evolving capital flows, and changing policy environments reshape the landscape for lenders and investors alike. Financial institutions are reassessing how they monitor credit risk, allocate capital, and identify emerging vulnerabilities.
The Credit Benchmark Fall 2026 Symposium in New York City will bring together senior executives, investors, regulators, and other leaders from across the financial industry for an afternoon of discussion on the macroeconomic, geopolitical, and market forces shaping the next credit cycle, and what they mean for risk management, lending, and capital allocation.
Agenda
3:00-3:30 PM: Arrivals
3:45–4:30 PM: Keynote Fireside Conversation: Macroeconomic & Geopolitical Outlook
Speaker: Beth Sanner, Director for Geopolitics, International Capital Strategies; former Deputy Director of National Intelligence
Moderator: Jon Hilsenrath, Founder, Serpa Pinto Advisory; former WSJ Senior Writer
Topics:
- A new macro regime: How geopolitics, fiscal policy and structural shifts are redefining inflation, markets, and credit risk.
- Capital allocation in a changing world: How investors should respond to evolving trade relationships, private credit growth, and emerging financial stability risks.
- The next generation of market transparency: The limitations of traditional credit measures and the growing role of early-warning indicators and consensus intelligence in improving risk visibility.
4:30–4:45 PM: Break
4:45–5:30 PM: Executive Panel: The Changing Architecture of Credit
Moderator: Mark Faulkner, Co-Founder, Credit Benchmark
Panelists:
- Jim Millstein, Co-Chairman, Guggenheim Securities
- Greg Baer, Chief Executive Officer, Bank Policy Institute
- Mark Corteil, Managing Director & General Manager, Chief Risk Officer, SMBC
- Navdeep Dhaliwal, Chief Risk Officer & Executive Vice President, CIBC
Topics:
- The changing architecture of credit: How capital is moving across banks, private lenders, insurers, and institutional investors, and where new concentrations, dependencies, and liquidity risks may be emerging.
- The next test of underwriting: What will distinguish strong underwriting as the cycle turns — covenant quality, valuation discipline, and visibility into borrower performance.
- Risk visibility in less transparent markets: Where markets may be complacent, which early-warning signals matter, and how independent credit intelligence and cross-market benchmarks strengthen portfolio monitoring.
- Public vs. private credit: where capital is being deployed most effectively as private credit takes share, the two markets converge, and relative value compresses.
5:30–7:00 PM: What the Data is Telling Us
Speaker: Michael Crumpler (CEO, Credit Benchmark)
A brief look at emerging credit trends through Credit Benchmark’s data.
5:45–7:00 PM: Reception