Debt Rating Agencies’ Role in the Global Debt Capital Markets: Past, Present, & Future
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Event Details
Join the Global Interdependence Center for this half day conference as we explore the role, influence and evolution of rating agencies as they pertain to capital debt markets.
Debt ratings agencies are instrumental to the debt capital markets.
Firms such as S&P, Moody’s and Egan Jones commit considerable resources in assessing the creditworthiness of borrowers, enabling investors and lenders to make informed credit decisions.
However, with the onset of the global financial crisis, there are many questions. Does the present debt rating system actually work? Is it proactive, or reactive? How was the present system created? Are there conflicts of interest? What impact does “politics” have with respect to rating determinations? Most importantly, does the present system & process serve investors adequately by providing independent information?
Please join us on February 29th at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia as we address these questions.
Jim Allen of CFA Institute will lead a panel discussion in which John Carbone of Vanguard, Natalie Cohen of Wells Fargo and Peter Demirali of Cumberland Advisors will share their views on the present ratings systems as it relates to money market funds, municipal securities, corporate debt securities and asset backed securities.
David Kotok of Cumberland Advisors will lead a panel discussion in which Mark Adelson of S&P and Bill Hassiepen of Egan Jones Ratings Services will compare and contrast “issuer paid research” and “investor paid research”. The essence of this conversation relates to the truly independent nature of rating agency research.
Norbert Gaillard, author of the book “A Century of Sovereign Ratings” will provide insight on sovereign debt ratings, an extremely relevant topic following the August 2011 downgrade of the US Treasury by S&P and the present European financial crisis.
Peter Kerstens will represent European investors’ assessment of US ratings agencies.
Catherine Mann, of Brandeis University will provide keynote comments addressing issues such as the governmental mandate, rebuilding confidence, assessment of economic capacity vs. political will and, ultimately, how does the present ratings controversy affect the global capital markets going forward.
We wish to thank the CFA Society of Philadelphia for joining the GIC in hosting this conference. Our mission is to provide knowledge for our guests, thus enabling them to better understand the debt ratings process and, as a result, be able to more fully serve their clients and constituents.
Agenda
7:30 am – Registration & Coffee Reception
8:00 am – Welcome, Bill Dunkelberg, Chair, GIC
8:15 am – Session I: The Ratings Agencies Today
- John Carbone, Principal, Vanguard
- Natalie Cohen, Senior Analyst, Wells Fargo
- Peter Demirali, Managing Director, Cumberland Advisors
Moderator: James Allen, Head of Capital Markets Policy, CFA Institute
9:15 am – Break
9:30 am – Session II: Issuer Paid Research vs. Investor Paid Research
- Mark Adelson, EMD, Senior Research Fellow, Standard & Poor’s
- Bill Hassiepen, VP and Senior Analyst, Egan Jones Rating Services
- Jim Nadler, President and COO, Kroll Bond Ratings
Moderator: David Kotok, Chairman and CIO, Cumberland Advisors and GIC Vice Chair
10:30 am – Break
10:45 am – Session III: Sovereign Debt
- Norbert Gaillard, Economist and Independent Consultant
- Peter Kerstens, Counselor, Economic and Financial Affairs, European Union Delegation to the USA
11:30 am – Break
11:45 am – Session V: Keynote Presentation “The Evolution of Credit Default Swaps and Their Relevance for the Debt Capital Markets Going Forward”
- Catherine Mann, Barbara ’54 and Richard M. Rosenberg Professor of Global Finance International Business School, Brandeis University and Visiting Scholar, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
12:30 pm – Conclusion followed by book signing with Norbert Gaillard
Event Location
Date: Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Time: 08:00 AM
City: Philadelphia, PA
Boehne Auditorium, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
Download iCalSpeaker Bios
James Allen
Mr. Allen is head of capital markets policy for CFA Institute, where he manages the Capital Markets Policy Group. This group develops and promotes capital markets positions, policies, and standards for CFA Institute. Mr. Allen also coordinates and supports related educational and public awareness activities.
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Mark Adelson
Mark H. Adelson is the Chief Credit Officer of Standard & Poor’s. He is responsible for all of S&P’s rating criteria for all types of ratings. He joined S&P in May 2008.
Before joining S&P, Adelson was a founding member of Adelson & Jacob Consulting, LLC. The firm specialized in the areas of securitization and real estate consulting and operated from July 2007 to May 2008.
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Peter Demirali
Peter Demirali joined Cumberland Advisors in 2002 as Portfolio Manager for the Taxable Bond style, and became a Managing Director in 2011. Mr. Demirali was a Senior Portfolio Manager at Smith Barney Asset Management from 1990 to 1999. In that position, he initiated a corporate bond component for taxable fixed-income portfolios.
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David Kotok
David R. Kotok cofounded Cumberland Advisors in 1973 and has been its Chief Investment Officer since inception. He holds a B.S. in economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. in organizational dynamics from The School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, and a masters in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.
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Catherine Mann
Dr. Catherine L. Mann holds the Barbara ’54 and Richard M. Rosenberg Chair in Global Finance at the International Business School, Brandeis University and is a Visiting Scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Previously, she was a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. Washington policy appointments include Assistant Director in the International Finance Division at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Senior International Economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, and Adviser to the Chief Economist at the World Bank.
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James Nadler
James Nadler is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc. Prior to joining Kroll, James was the Vice President for Corporate Development at General Re in the New England Asset Management Division.
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Natalie Cohen
Natalie Cohen is a managing director and Head of Municipal Research, a new coverage area for Wells Fargo’s Global Economics and Research group. She was previously president of National Municipal Research, Inc., an independent consulting and research company focused on U.S. state and local government finance.
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Norbert Gaillard
Norbert Gaillard is an economist and independent consultant. His PhD dissertation, completed in 2008 and supervised by Professor Marc Flandreau, dealt with sovereign ratings methodologies.
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Peter Kerstens
Peter is Economics and Finance Counselor at the Delegation of the European Commission to the USA, covering in particular financial services and financial markets regulation.
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John M. Carbone
Mr. Carbone is a Principal and Portfolio Manager with the Vanguard Group which is headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. John is a 25 year municipal industry veteran.
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