December 19, 2019 - On December 12^th, the LSTA hosted David Chmiel, Managing Director of Global Torchlight – Geopolitical Risk Advisors, who presented a webinar, “A Year of Consequence: The Global Political Environment in 2020 and its Impact on the Loan Market” to LSTA members.  Noting the rapid and profound change and general disquietude of today, Mr Chmiel examined our economic challenges (the ongoing trade wars, the recession fears, and the rise of anti-globalisation), our internal challenges (populist politics, the erosion of traditional political divisions, and the 2020 electoral calendar amidst shifting political dynamics), and our external challenges (the move from a unipolar to a multipolar world, shifting and weakening alliance structures and the further weaponisation of business) with which we must contend today.  Our fundamental, long-held assumptions are being challenged and disrupted daily.  Despite this, people generally think that the concept of free trade is a good thing and, in fact, the number of those in support of free trade has grown in recent years, though there remains a trust gap.  Those that are the informed public (bankers, lawyers, business people, etc) have a greater level of trust in business, government, and media than the mass population, but the level of trust has generally dropped in the past two years.  2020 will be a significant year, a true year of consequence: some issues will be resolved, others will remain constant and new challenges will emerge.   Click here for the presentation and reply.