The Penta Podcast Channel

On March 10, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed after what many are calling a bank run, triggering the second largest bank failure in U.S. history. Since then, regulators and policymakers have searched for answers, mid-sized banks across the country have struggled to assuage fears over their stability, and Swiss investment firm Credit Suisse has been taken over by UBS as the SVB fallout has rippled through the economy.On this episode of What's at Stake, Bryan DeAngelis, a partner at Penta, and Ylan Mui, a managing director at the firm, are joined by Aaron Klein to discuss the impacts of SVB's collapse and–as Aaron sees it–the failure of our banking regulatory system. Aaron Klein is currently a senior fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, focused on financial technology and regulation, payments, macroeconomics, and infrastructure finance and policy. Between 2009 and 2012, Klein served as the deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the Department of Treasury, where he helped develop and secure the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.The group discusses how the Fed failed to implement proper oversight of SVB, Michael Barr's pre-written testimony, and if we should be allowing more banks to fail. They also answer the question: Was this the first bank run of the social media ageRead more from Aaron Klein here.

On today's Macrocast, our new host Ylan Mui, managing director at Penta, sits down with John Fagan and Brendan Walsh of Markets Policy Partners to break down the Fed's latest 25 basis point rate hike. The trio points out that it was unique that Chairman Powell spoke so candidly about the Fed's uncertainty on how to adjust rates moving forward. Ylan, John, and Brendan discuss the state of the U.S. economy more broadly, including with respect to how the current commotion in the banking sector might spill over to other countries and sectors. The group finishes the episode by chatting about the odds of regulators taking action in the  banking sector, Yellen's testimony on Capitol Hill, and the state of the U.S. bond market. 

This week, Penta acquired Copperfield Advisory, a communications, brand, and strategy consulting firm based in New York, further cementing Penta's position as the world's first and foremost comprehensive stakeholder solutions firm. Andy Whitehouse, senior partner at Penta and former managing partner and founder at Copperfield, joins Penta President Matt McDonald on this week's episode of What's at Stake to break down what this acquisition means for Penta and its clients. Andy joins Penta with over 20 years of experience in strategic communications. Before joining Copperfield, he was chief communications officer at IBM, Willis Towers Watson, and McKinsey & Company, and worked to tackle poverty and social exclusion as a UK government policymaker.The Copperfield team brings extensive C-suite experience and issue fluency to Penta, deepening the firm's expertise and offerings in disciplines including brand positioning, transaction communications, talent strategy, and crisis preparedness. Matt and Andy start out the conversation by discussing Copperfield and Penta's complimentary outlooks on the importance of data-driven decision-making and insights. Later, they dive into Andy's extensive experience advising major companies and developing public policy in a range of key sectors including financial services, private equity, tech, healthcare, and philanthropy.Read more about Penta’s acquisition of Copperfield here.

On today's Macrocast, hosts Bryan DeAngelis, Ylan Mui, Brendan Walsh, and John Fagan are joined by Penta's Oliver Edelmann to unpack another big week of macroeconomic news. The group unpacks the latest turmoil in the banking sector, saga of Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic Bank, and the banking sector more broadly, and discusses the potential reactions from the Federal Reserve. They also explain why consumer sentiment might impact the Fed's response, delving into insights from Penta and Civic Science's latest ESI analysis.

On February 27, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a new trade agreement between the UK and European Union (EU) called the Windsor Framework. This comes after years of confusion and empty shelves resulting from the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol, which has been criticized for making it difficult to import goods to Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom. Penta Partners Kevin Madden and Rory O'Donnell sit down to decipher some of the nuances surrounding the Windsor Framework, the Northern Ireland protocol, and why these trade agreements have such a charged history. The two outline how the Windsor Framework will change the current Northern Ireland Protocol, particularly with respect to the Irish sea border. They also explain what the new "red lane, green lane" system will look like for the movement of goods on the Irish isle.Kevin and Rory then outline some of the political responses to the new framework in the region. How will Stormont–the Northern Ireland Assembly–respond? And if the Windsor Framework is implemented, how might it positively impact the future of investment and opportunity in Northern Ireland and beyond?

There's been no shortage of gripping macroeconomic developments this week. On today's Macrocast, hosts Bryan DeAngelis, Ylan Mui, Brendan Walsh, and John Fagan dive into the February jobs report and what it can tell us about women in the workforce, before breaking down some key takeaways from Fed Chair Jerome Powell's semi-annual testimony before Congress. In the second half of the show, the group takes on this morning's astonishing meltdown at Silicon Valley Bank. Read Penta's February Jobs Day Fact Sheet here.

In this edition of What's at Stake, Penta Partner Stratton Kirton interviews the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Principal Energy Specialist David Elzinga about the Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM).Countries around the world have committed to lowering their emissions over the coming decades. While the U.S. and Europe are approaching the transition to clean energy as developed nations, countries across southeast Asia and Africa are attempting to meet their climate commitments while their populations boom. The Asian Development Bank's ETM is an innovative program specifically designed to help developing nations transition more quickly to clean energy in a just and tailored way.ETM aims to harness private and concessional capital to accelerate the retirement or repurposing of Southeast Asian fossil fuel plants and crowd in investment for clean energy alternatives. Throughout the episode, David and Stratton discuss the details of ETM, the ADB's commitment to fighting climate change, and why the energy transition in different parts of the world requires varied solutions. David also shares his advice for people looking to enter the clean energy space.  To learn more about ETM, visit the ADB's homepage on the project.

On today's Macrocast, Bryan, John, and Brendan host John Dick from Civic Science and Ylan Mui, a managing director at Penta. Ylan just joined Penta by way of CNBC, where she covered economic and regulatory policy for six years. The group discusses the latest economic sentiment index, which shows consumer optimism ticking down from the record high two weeks ago and more evidence of a "hangover" in spending following the post-COVID surge. Plus, the group  looks ahead to Federal Reserve Chair Powell's upcoming testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, where Democrats like Sherrod Brown are likely to press Powell on the threat to employment posed by rate hikes. Take a look at Penta's latest ESI analysis here.

The Federal Reserve's next moves are on the minds of business leaders everywhere. Some experts warn of a recession, others hold out hope for a "soft landing," and there's plenty of data to support both sides of the argument. For many Fed watchers, that can make it difficult to understand the Fed's thinking. To cut through the noise, Bryan DeAngelis hosts three experts on the Federal Reserve for this episode of What's at Stake. John Fagan and Brendan Walsh, co-founders of Markets Policy Partners and Macrocast co-hosts, and Brai Odion-Esene, founder of SW4 Insights, join the show.  The group explains why we're living through a uniquely challenging time for the Federal Reserve, as it tries to balance its competing mandates of reducing inflation and maintaining employment. They discuss which indicators influence the Fed's agenda the most and whether the Fed's preferred inflation metrics truly reflect Americans' experience.Listen to the most recent episode of the Macrocast with Markets Policy Partners here. Learn more about Markets Policy Partners here and SW4 Insights here.

On today's Macrocast, hosts Bryan DeAngelis and John Fagan are joined by Jill Craig, a partner in Penta's Brussels office, to take a look at new data on the Fed's (former?) favorite inflation rating and whether the market might finally be listening to its signaling. In the second half of the show, Jill shares a European perspective on the war in Ukraine as the group looks back on the year since Russia's invasion.Read Penta's new Q4 2022 GDP Fact Sheet here.