In this episode of Current Account, Clay takes a look back at 2024 and some of the key topics and issues throughout the year. The summary includes four sections of highlight: The current and ongoing status of conflicts across the globe, a trend of anti-incumbency throughout recent global elections, a review of the economic year and how the incoming Trump administration will influence these and other issues.

This IIF Podcast was hosted by Clay Lowery, Executive Vice President, Research and Policy, with production and research contributions from Christian Klein, Digital Graphics and Production Associate and Miranda Silverman, Senior Program Assistant.

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's Managing Director of Digital Finance, Jessica Renier, to provide an update on digital assets and their development in recent months and years. Clay and Jessica provide a brief roadmap of progress in CBDCs, cryptocurrencies and tokenization technologies before discussing digital asset innovation from the official sector, various developments across jurisdictions, how the incoming U.S. administration may approach regulatory frameworks surrounding digital assets and much more.

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Douglas Beal, the Global Head of Social Impact and Just Transition in Financial Institutions at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), to discuss the recent COP29 meetings held in Baku, Azerbaijan. After discussing high-level takeaways from the conference, Clay and Doug shift the conversation to topics such as explaining the "Just Transition" and the social implications of transition finance, the potential impact of global elections on transition planning, subsequent steps for financial institutions and much more.

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In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Andreas Kluth, an opinion columnist for Bloomberg covering US diplomacy, national security and geopolitics, to discuss the ongoing political and economic developments in Germany. Clay and Andreas dive into how and why the coalition government recently collapsed, the accelerated election timetable over the next few months, explain the "debt brake" and how it ties into recent economic stagnation, Germany's role within the European Union presently and going forward, the state of international relations throughout this period of instability and much more.

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In this episode of Current Account, Clay dives into the long-awaited results of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Elections, which saw Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump secure his second term at helm, focusing on the economic strategy and fiscal policy implications of this outcome. Clay begins with the initial reaction to not only the outcome of the Presidential election, but the outcomes of the House and Senate races as well. For the remaining duration of the episode, Clay dives into key points in the Trump economic agenda, including the areas of trade, regulation, national debt, international relations and many others. Clay concludes the discussion looking ahead to President-elect Trump's upcoming decisions on open positions throughout his administration.

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In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF Economist Jonathan Fortun to discuss recent economic and political developments in Japan. Clay and Jonathan discuss a brief overview of the recent series of elections in Japan, before diving into the Bank of Japan's recent measures, how recent events may impact international relations, the recent pattern of coalition governments in major economies and more.

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by IIF's President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Adams to preview the 2024 IIF Annual Membership Meeting, taking place in Washington, D.C., from October 22-25. Clay and Tim look ahead at many topics that stand to be at the forefront of discussion, including thoughts and effects surrounding current geopolitical risks, the state of emerging markets and the global state of debt, implementation of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital payments, impacts of the upcoming U.S. Presidential elections and much more.

Make sure to follow the 2024 IIF Annual Membership Meeting throughout the week!