ESG Talks

In this episode of ESG Talks, Andrea Torres Villanueva, an Associate on KBRA’s ESG team, interviews Eric Thompson, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Structured Finance Ratings. Eric and Andrea discuss ESG trends in securitization, the challenges of ESG integration, and KBRA’s process of incorporating ESG into structured finance transactions.

In this special episode of ESG Talks, Jim Nadler, KBRA’s CEO and President, discusses the importance of ESG on Economics & Beyond with Rob Johnson, a podcast of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET). Jim and economist Rob Johnson discuss the profound influence that bond ratings have on shaping social and economic outcomes, how they can contribute to environmental and social responsibility, and why a new approach to bond ratings is urgently necessary.

In this episode of ESG Talks, Miten Amin, a Managing Director on KBRA’s Business Development Team in London, interviews Tina De Baere, Head of ESG and Macro Strategy at Cairn Capital. Cairn Capital is a London-based alternative credit asset manager with $6 billion in assets under management. Tina joined Cairn Capital in 2008 as a portfolio manager. Since 2017, Tina’s focus has included ESG, and she spearheaded Cairn Capital’s push into responsible investing. Tina also developed Cairn Capital’s ESG strategy and policy for all of the firm’s asset classes, including HY bonds, leveraged loans, and securitized products.

In this episode of ESG Talks, Bill Cox, Global Head of Corporate, Financial, and Government Ratings at KBRA, sits down with Wesley Misson and Katie McShane from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. Cadwalader has a globally recognized Fund Finance practice, which spans the U.S. and Europe. Wes is a partner in the firm’s Finance Group, where he leads the ESG initiative. He is also co-lead of Cadwalader’s U.S.-based Fund Finance practice and has experience in subscription, hybrid, and ESG fund facilities.

Katie is an associate in Cadwalader’s Finance Group, focusing on the area of fund finance. Katie represents major banks and financial institutions in the structuring, negotiation, and documentation of subscription fund facilities, including ESG facilities. Bill, Wes, and Katie speak about ESG developments in the fund finance space and how the momentum in ESG investing has changed the landscape.

In the final episode of the second season of ESG Talks, Emilie Nadler, an Associate Director on KBRA’s ESG Team chats with Pat Welch, KBRA’s Chief ESG and Ratings Policy Officer. Pat and Emilie discuss trends in ESG investing, KBRA’s recent ESG initiatives, highlights from the second season of ESG Talks plus what’s to come in the third season.

In this episode of ESG Talks, Dana Bunting, Senior Managing Director of KBRA’s Business Development Team interviews Judy Wesalo Temel, Senior Vice President and Director of Credit Research at Fiera Capital. Judy leads the fixed income credit research team and is responsible for approving or not approving the purchases of a broad range of municipal and corporate credit including state and local governments, higher education, health care, infrastructure, utilities, transportation, financials, and other sectors. She directs the development of credit policy, databases, and other tools to manage clients’ portfolio credit risk. Judy also plays a key role in Fiera’s U.S. ESG strategies.

In this episode of ESG Talks, Emilie Nadler, KBRA’s Associate Director of ESG, interviews Sabina Saragoussi, the Director of Partnerships for Parks. Partnerships for Parks is a private-public partnership between NYC Parks and City Parks Foundation. The organization supports and champions neighborhood volunteers by giving them the tools they need to advocate and care for their community parks and green spaces. KBRA has been a supporter of Partnerships for Parks for the past few years and is excited to announce that we will be volunteering with Partnerships for Parks every year on Earth Day starting in 2022. Emilie and Sabina celebrate Earth month and highlight the amazing work Partnerships for Parks does across NYC.

In this episode of ESG Talks, KBRA’s Chief Strategist, Van Hesser, interviews Brian Ford, KBRA’s Senior Director of Structured Finance Research. Van and Brian discuss the key findings from a recent KBRA research piece, EPA Greenhouse Gas Scores Shed Light on Auto Loan ABS. The report mapped the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) greenhouse gas (GHG) score to the make, model, and year information provided in auto loan asset-level disclosures to calculate an average GHG score for each loan pool.

In this episode of ESG Talks, Peter Giacone, Managing Director and global head of KBRA’s Insurance Practice interviews Ariane West of Nephila Climate, the weather, climate, and ESG-focused unit of Nephila Capital, the largest insurance and reinsurance-linked fund manager. Ariane is the Director of Structured Finance at Nephila Climate and focuses on developing new renewable energy-focused hedging products and other credit-linked weather transactions. Peter and Ariane will discuss how the insurance industry fits into the ESG movement.

In this episode of ESG Talks, Emilie Nadler, an Associate Director in KBRA’s ESG Group, interviews Stacie Olivares, KBRA’s newest board member. Structuring investments, innovation, and initiatives for competitive financial returns and positive social and environmental impact is Stacie’s passion. Her career spans the private and public sectors across the areas of investment, technology, and policy. In addition to serving on KBRA’s U.S. Board of Directors, Stacie was appointed in 2019 by California Governor, Gavin Newsom, to serve as a Trustee on the board of administration of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest public pension in the U.S.

Stacie and Emilie discuss gender challenges in the workplace, COVID-19’s impact on gender roles, and how women and men can empower each other at work.