Policy Pulse

In this episode, Emilie Nadler, senior director on KBRA’s Regulatory and Government Affairs (RGA) team, chats with Ryan Mensing, managing director on KBRA’s RGA team. Ryan and Emilie discuss the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)’s recent Call for Evidence on restricted subscription and private credit ratings, published in April 2026. The Call for Evidence examines how these ratings products are used in practice, the risks and benefits associated with them, and whether regulatory clarification or reform may be needed under the EU Credit Rating Agency Regulation (CRAR).

KBRA’s Policy Pulse podcast gives listeners insight into the latest regulatory trends and upcoming changes to global financial policy. Join us as we navigate the complex regulatory world and offer perspectives from industry leaders, key investors, and policy experts.

In this episode, Emilie Nadler chats with Ryan Mensing, Associate General Counsel who covers Regulatory Affairs for KBRA’s legal team. Ryan and Emilie discuss a Draft Issues Paper by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), Structural Shifts in the Life Insurance Sector, which was published in March 2025. The Draft Paper focused on life insurers’ increased allocation to alternative assets and the rising adoption of cross-border asset-intensive reinsurance (“AIR”) transactions. The IAIS just closed their public consultation period for the paper on June 2 and KBRA submitted a formal comment given our leadership in the private credit space. Ryan and Emilie provide an overview of the IAIS paper and also walk listeners through KBRA’s comment letter.

In this special crossover episode of Policy Pulse, Emilie Nadler is joined by KBRA’s Chief Strategist and host of the weekly 3 Things in Credit Podcast, Van Hesser, as well as KBRA’s European Macro Strategist and host of Credit Compass: Navigating European Credit Markets, Gordon Kerr. In this episode, Emilie, Van, and Gordon discuss the current policy environment including how the US’ policy agenda is influencing regulatory priorities in the UK and EU and the potential long-term impact on credit.

In this episode of Policy Pulse, Emilie Nadler is joined by Ryan Mensing, KBRA’s Associate General Counsel with a focus on Regulatory Affairs. Emilie and Ryan attended the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)’s Spring National Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana last month. In this episode, Ryan and Emilie recap the meeting and discuss some of the important regulatory developments that they’ve been watching.

In the inaugural episode of Policy Pulse, Emilie Nadler is joined by Larry Hamilton, a partner at Mayer Brown and lead of the firm’s US Insurance Regulatory practice. Larry is a co-founder of Mayer Brown’s Insurance and Capital Markets Convergence group, which uses the combined talents of the firm’s insurance and structured finance practices to ensure that transactions take into account the customs and expectations of both markets. Larry has a 50-state insurance regulatory practice and has extensive experience negotiating directly with insurance regulators, helping clients overcome regulatory obstacles and gain approval for their proposed forms of business arrangements. He regularly advises US and European clients on the insurance regulatory issues associated with new and complex investment structures, including the evolving changes in regulatory treatment of different types of investments by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). In this episode, Larry and Emilie discuss a recent NAIC regulatory development—the principles-based bond definition (PBBD).