Macro Credit

KBRA’s Van Hesser and Gordon Kerr discuss their latest Forward Look research for Q1 2026, examining key macro and credit trends across the U.S., Europe, and the UK.

They explore the economic forces shaping credit markets, including growth expectations, monetary policy, geopolitical risk, and valuation dynamics, and highlight the major risks and opportunities investors should be watching in the quarter ahead.

Watch for timely insights into the evolving global credit landscape.

Van Hesser is a Senior Managing Director and Chief Macro Strategist at KBRA, where he is responsible for commenting on market and economic developments and their impact on credit markets. He is also a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Van is the creator and host of KBRA’s weekly podcast, 3 Things in Credit. Previously, he led the company’s Financial Institutions and Corporates credit rating groups, where he leveraged over 30 years of experience as an institutional investor, sell-side research analyst, investment banker, and regulator. During his professional career, Van was named to Institutional Investor Magazine’s All-America Fixed Income Research Team rankings 10 times across three categories, and has marketed his investment views extensively across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. He has also served as an expert witness in important industry litigation.

Prior to joining KBRA, Van was a managing director in the Financial Institutions Group at Wells Fargo Principal Investments. Previously, he worked at HSBC Securities for 10 years, serving as managing director and global head of Credit Research and head of U.S. Fixed Income Research. He also served on HSBC’s six-person Global Research Management Committee. In addition to his managerial responsibilities, Van served as a senior corporate bond research analyst covering U.S. banks, brokers, and specialty finance companies.

Van also held senior sell-side corporate bond research roles covering financial institutions at Credit Suisse First Boston and Goldman Sachs, as well as a corporate finance position in Salomon Brothers’ Financial Institutions Group. He started his career as a bank examiner at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Van earned a B.S., cum laude, from Fordham University and an MBA from Yale University.

Contact Van

+1 (646) 731-2305

[email protected]

Connect with Van on LinkedIn

Gordon Kerr is the European Macro Strategist at KBRA, where he provides commentary on economic and market developments across Europe and the UK, focusing on their implications for credit markets. He covers these themes through research reports and as the host of Credit Compass: Navigating European Credit Markets, a weekly podcast and newsletter.

Before assuming his current role, Gordon led KBRA’s European research efforts, publishing in-depth analysis on a broad range of credit-related topics and contributing a European perspective to the firm’s Credit Policy Committee.

Gordon brings over 20 years of capital markets experience to his work, with a background spanning credit research, trading, and strategy roles. Prior to KBRA, he served as head of European structured finance research at DBRS Morningstar for a decade, earning a strong following in structured finance circles. While there, Gordon also oversaw a technical and quantitative team focused on model and tool development. Earlier in his career, he held various roles over 10 years at Citigroup, including in high-yield strategy, structured finance trading, and research.

Gordon holds a B.Sc. from Acadia University and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business.

Contact Gordon

+44 20 8148 1020

[email protected]

Connect with Gordon on LinkedIn