Speaker Q&A: Meet Satyam Panday

We’re looking forward to our 25th Annual Securities Operations Summit in a few weeks, where we’ll explore the theme Financial Services Disrupted: Charting the Course and all of the topics it encompasses. As we gear up, we’ll be highlighting a few of the conference’s featured speakers who will be sharing their insights on the changes disrupting financial services operations.

One of the excellent speakers who will be sharing his insights at the conference is Satyam Panday, Senior Economist at S&P Global. We spoke with Satyam about his upcoming session, “US Macro-Economic Outlook: Growth, Interest Rates, and Risk of a Recession”, as well as his predictions for how firms will strategize around the economy in the years to come.

Q: We're thrilled to have you speak at our 25th Annual Securities Operations Summit! What are you planning on discussing during your panel? 

A: I plan on discussing macro-economic conditions in the US. In doing so, I will present S&P’s growth and interest rate outlook for the United States, together with risks surrounding the outlook.

Q: What updates in Washington DC do you think will be most impactful to the markets over the next year? In your opinion, how should the financial services industry prepare and respond? 

A: Legislations that came through with tax cuts and increased government spending provided a tailwind to the economy last year. That fiscal stimulus is poised to fade as 2019 progresses. Whether the government sector turns into a headwind or neutral (from a tailwind) depends on government funding/budgetary spending provisions for FY2020 and beyond, a bipartisan infrastructure spending bill, and trade-related policy changes.  

Q: The theme of the conference is "Financial Services Disrupted: Charting the Course" - what do you think will be most important for firms to keep in mind as they plan for the next 3-5 years?

A: It is important to keep in mind that most policy-related tailwinds—tax cuts and some degree of deregulation – are now behind us. Moving forward, productivity growth is going to be the swing factor for businesses and the broader economy. Assumptions of organic revenue growth should be made through the lenses of the US economy’s longer run potential growth rate (2%, not 3%). If history is any guide, the next few years are likely to see cyclical vulnerabilities rise, and growth will become more vulnerable to event risks.

Interested in hearing more of Dr. Panday’s insights? Register for the General Session day or for the full three-day conference here.