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S&P Global Ratings’ Michael Wilkins discusses ESG Evaluation launch with Global Capital

Following the launch of S&P Global Ratings’ ESG Evaluation, Global Capital interviewed Michael Wilkins, managing director of Sustainable Finance.

In the interview, Wilkins discusses the launch, the methodology behind the tool, and the pilot studies conducted prior to the launch.

Asked what makes S&P different to other providers of similar services, Wilkins answered: “We don’t rely solely on data to come up with scores, which is what happens with most other players in the market … it is more dynamic, more involved.”

The full interview can be found here (behind paywall).

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S&P Global Ratings’ Gloria Lu and Abhishek Dangra discuss looming volatility in Asian infrastructure market for Brink Asia

S&P Global Ratings’ Gloria Lu, Senior Director of Corporate & Infrastructure Ratings, Asia Pacific, and Abhishek Dangra, Director, Asia Pacific Corporate Ratings, recently discussed the looming volatility shadowing Asia’s infrastructure market for Brink News, offering their own views and potential responses to increasing risks proliferating in the region.

Discussing the refinancing risks that China may face as a third of the market’s debt approaches maturity in the coming months, Lu and Dangra consider some options available to mitigate external pressures, such as political and regulatory reform.

Read the full article here.

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S&P Global Ratings launch ESG Evaluation, covered by the specialist press

S&P Global Ratings launched recently its ESG Evaluation tool, a new benchmark providing a cross-sector, relative analysis of an entity’s capacity to operate successfully in the future based. The ESG Evaluation scoring system is grounded in how environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors could affect stakeholders, and the potential for these factors to have material financial impact.

“The ESG Evaluation aims to deliver a forward-looking view that sets a new holistic benchmark in sustainability,” says Michael Wilkins, managing director and head of sustainable finance, at S&P Global Ratings.

Following Moorgate outreach, the launch has been covered by: Markets Media, MarketWatch, PR Newswire, Sustainable Brands, Global Banking & Finance Review, Environmental Finance, Institutional Asset Manager, The Asset, Business Green, Global Capital, Edie.net, and ETFWorld

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S&P Global Ratings’ Julyana Yokota reviews Latin America’s changing infrastructure landscape for Brink News

In a commentary for Brink News, Julyana Yokota, Director of Infrastructure Ratings at S&P Global Ratings, highlights the geopolitical and regulatory risks that are driving a shift in investor sentiment towards Latin American infrastructure.

Yakota considers Brazil, Mexico and Argentina individually, alongside the broader regional landscape, stating that “credit conditions have significantly improved…particularly with regard to utilities’ regulatory stability and transparency.”

The full commentary can be found here.

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S&P Global Ratings’ Candela Macchi explores Latam’s infrastructure market growth for Financier Worldwide

Financier Worldwide has published a commentary written by S&P Global Ratings’ Director and Sector Lead in the Infrastructure Ratings Practice in Latin America, Candela Macchi, in which she examines the expansion and resilience of the region’s infrastructure market and the discrepancies between its’ industries.

Emphasising the longevity within this asset class, Macchi predicts that although changes to regulatory frameworks will pose new challenges and unpredictable political landscapes could undermine market confidence, investors may still find comfort in the favourable conditions that traditionally characterize the infrastructure market.

The full article can be found here.

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S&P Global Ratings publishes its inaugural edition of U.S. Corporate Insights

 S&P Global Ratings has published its inaugural edition of U.S Corporate Insights – answering the questions on investors’ mind regarding the latest corporate credit trends, such as: how are looming trade wars and higher debt levels affecting appetite? And, as we near the latter stages of the credit cycle, is the current state of play one of peak, plateau, or peril?

The edition also provides sector views from S&P Global Ratings analysts on oil and gas, autos, real estate, and media and telecoms.

Read the latest edition here

Moorgate compiles, edits and designs U.S Corporate Insights

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S&P Global Ratings’ Michael Wilkins is the guest speaker on the ICC World Business Organization’s Podcast on sustainable finance

In light of the UN’s High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, ICC United Kingdom Secretary General Chris Southworth, talks to Michael Wilkins, Head of Sustainable Finance, S&P Global Ratings, about how the public and private sectors are enabling sustainable finance, the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) and resilient societies.

To listen to the full podcast click here.

 

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Global debt at an all-time high – but banks don’t need to fret over corporate loans, writes Nina Brumma in Global Banking & Finance Review

Following Global Credit Data’s recent Loss Given Default (LGD) report, Nina Brumma, Head of Research and Analytics at Global Credit Data, explores what happens when a corporate defaults and how banks can manage the risk in Global Banking & Finance Review.

Despite a slow but steady remission from the global economic crisis at the end of the last decade, global debt has reached a record-breaking $237 trillion. As a result, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) voiced concern in its latest Global Financial Stability Report, stating, “the prolonged period of loose financial conditions in recent years has raised concerns that financial intermediaries and investors … may have extended too much credit to risky borrowers.”

This serves as a warning to banks and corporates, asking them to consider the consequences of corporates beginning to default on their debts. Especially with less familiar or riskier borrowers, it is therefore essential for financial institutions to seek collateral for their loans, and for the debt to take seniority if the borrowing body defaults. This maximizes the chances of a near-full recovery in the case of a default.

This said, Global Credit Data’s recent LGD report, which compiles statistics from over 50 member banks since 2000, reveals that, on average, banks recover 75% of defaulted corporate debt. And given that defaulted debt accounts for just 1% of the average bank’s loan book, it means banks recover a total of 99.75% of all corporate debt – before factoring in profit from interest payments and coupons. If a company has taken the right precautions, a bank can feel comfortable in a climate of low LGD.

For more information, read the full article here and the full report here.

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Credit risk, stranded assets and the environment: S&P Global Ratings’ Mike Wilkins contributes a chapter to a major new Routledge study

With ongoing advances in sustainability, the risk of being unable to monetise ca​r​bon assets grows by the day. A new book from Routledge, Stranded Assets and the Environment: Risk, Resilience and Opportunity, explores the ramifications of asset stranding across various sectors of the global economy.

Mike Wilkins, Head of Sustainable Finance at S&P Global Ratings, supplies chapter 8, drawing on research and real-world corporate case studies to focus on the credit implications of stranded assets.