Overview
Europe enters 2026 battered but resilient. The torrent of headlines — from tariffs and trade to war, geopolitics, and government shutdown — has been relentless. Yet credit spreads seem to tell a different story, hovering near historic tights.
With persistent questions around rates, consumer confidence, potential spillovers from US defaults, the perils and promise of bank M&A, and the private vs public market debate, how should investors approach 2026?
Join us for an evening of discussion with analysts, portfolio managers and CIOs on what may lie ahead and to hear the top ideas from our analysts.
Check the agenda and speaker line-up below. Register today to secure your seat!
Agenda
- 14:00 – 14:30
Registration
- 14:30 – 14:35
Welcome Remarks
Aidan Cheslin, Head of European Credit Research, Bloomberg Intelligence- 14:35 – 15:05
Views from the Top: “How to Think Credit at the Tights?”
Ella Hoxha, Head of Fixed Income & Co-Head of Real Return, BNY Investments Newton
Iain Stealey, International CIO Global Fixed Income, Global FICC, JP Morgan Asset Management
Mahesh Bhimalingam, Global Head of Credit Strategy, Bloomberg Intelligence
Bruce Douglas, Team Leader, Leveraged Finance and Distressed Debt EMEA, Bloomberg News (Moderator)- 15:05 – 15:35
Do AT1s Still Offer Value At These Levels?
Jackie Ineke, Chief Investment Officer, Spring Investments
Filippo Maria Alloatti, Head of Financials Credit, Federated Hermes
Vik Shah, Portfolio Manager, Jain Global
Jeroen Julius, European Bank Credit Senior Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence (Moderator)- 15:35 – 16:00
Coffee Break
- 16:00 – 16:30
Let’s Take This Offline: Private Panacea vs. Public Pandemonium?
- 16:30 – 17:15
Lightning Talk – BI’s Top European Credit Investment Ideas for 2026
Tolu Alamutu, Senior Credit Analyst, Real Estate and EMEA Banks
Ruben Benavides, Credit Analyst, Banks Credit Analyst
Aidan Cheslin, Head of European Credit Research
Jeroen Julius, Senior Credit Analyst, Banks Credit Analyst
Stephane Kovatchev, Senior Analyst, Industrials
Tim Riminton, Senior Analyst, Basic Materials
Paul Vickars, Senior Credit Analyst- 17:15 – 17:20
Closing Remarks
Aidan Cheslin, Head of European Credit Research, Bloomberg Intelligence- 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Networking Reception
Speakers
Ella Hoxha
Ella Hoxha is Head of Fixed Income at BNY Investments Newton, and co-lead on the BNY Mellon Real Return Fund, with assets under management totalling greater than £2bn.
Ella joined BNY Investments Newton in July 2023 and has 20 years’ experience in managing a variety of fixed-income portfolios. Prior to this, Ella was previously a senior investment manager at Pictet Asset Management on the global bonds team.
Sarang Kulkarni
Sarang is the lead portfolio manager for the Vanguard Global Credit Bond Fund, and co-manages the Vanguard Global Core and Global Strategic Bond Funds.
Before joining Vanguard, Sarang worked at Schroders Investment Management as co-lead manager for several global strategies focused on investment-grade and high-yield corporate bonds, as well as emerging market debt. Prior to Schroders, Sarang was Senior Portfolio Manager at Aerion Fund Management, the primary fund manager for the British Gas Pension Scheme, where Sarang managed the GBP investment-grade bond portfolio and played a key role on the fixed income strategy committee and the cross-asset thematic strategies team.
Sarang began his career as a corporate financier at Peregrine Capital in Asia and moved to Andersen Corporate Finance in London in 1998, where Sarang developed several innovative debt financing solutions for infrastructure, utilities, and acquisition financing.
Sarang is a CFA charterholder and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management – Calcutta, as well as a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Mumbai.
Iain Stealey
Tolu Alamutu
Tolu Alamutu, a senior credit analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, specializes in European real estate issuers and emerging market banks. With experience at Gramercy Ltd, Tellimer, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, she holds dual B.Sc. degrees and is a CFA Charterholder.
Ruben Benavides
Ruben previously served as Senior Analyst in Fixed Income at BBVA for over 4 years and as a Financial Analyst at Moody’s Investors Service. Ruben also gained experience in financial services at EY. He holds an MS in Banking and Finance from Universitat Pompeu Fabra and completed the International Business Program at the University of Warsaw. Additionally, he is certified in Wealth and Investment Management from CISI.
Mahesh Bhimalingam
Mahesh Bhimalingam is the Global Head of Credit Strategy and Chief European Credit Strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence since 2019. He covers European Credit markets, across all shades of Investment Grade, High Yield, Sterling, iTraxx, Leveraged Loans, Cocos and Green Credit while also managing the global credit strategy team covering US, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Securitized credit. Based in London, Mahesh has 25 years of experience covering Global Credit and Fixed Income across Developed and Emerging Markets.
Prior to joining Bloomberg in 2019, Mahesh worked as the Global Macro Strategist for Numen Capital, a multi-strategy hedge fund. Before that, he was Global Head of Emerging Market Credit Strategy and Head of European Credit Strategy at BNP for nearly 5 years leading large research teams.
Mahesh holds an MBA from IIM (Indian Institute of Management) Ahmedabad and a B.Tech Engineering degree from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Madras.
Aidan Cheslin
Bruce Douglas
Bruce Douglas is the leveraged finance and distressed debt team leader for Bloomberg News in London.
He was previously an editor for the Latin American economics and government team in Brazil.
Jeroen Julius
Jeroen, based in London, has more than 20 years of experience covering the financial services sectors. Prior to joining Bloomberg, he was a sell-side credit analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch as covering European banks and insurers. Before that, he held research analyst positions at Barclays, HSBC Asset Management, Fitch Ratings and Fox-Pitt, Kelton. He holds a masters degree in financial economics from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Stephane Kovatchev
Stephane Kovatchev is a Senior Credit Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, covering high yield and investment-grade credits in European cyclical industrials and shipping. With over six years at Bloomberg, he provides in-depth credit insights and market analysis to institutional investors. Prior to Bloomberg, Stephane spent nearly seven years at RBS as a High Yield Desk Analyst and CEEMEA Corporate Debt Strategist. He also held roles at J.P. Morgan, Société Générale, and Omega Asset Management. Stephane holds a Master’s degree in Finance from ESCP Business School.
Tim Riminton
