Montreal Financial Institutions Briefing
Navigating uncertainty: volatile markets, shifting policies and lower growth
Agenda
Registration and networking lunch
Canadian banks: staying resilient amid global uncertainty
- How will changes in monetary policy, trade tensions, and the slowing economy impact banks’ credit and liquidity?
- How are Canadian banks handling capital levels amid market shifts and changing global rules?
- What are the other main trends in Canada’s banking sector today, such as new technology and digital banks?
Canadian insurance: strategic shifts through reinsurance and private credit
- How are mergers, acquisitions, and reinsurance changing the life insurance industry? What does this mean for growth and risk?
- How are property and casualty insurers dealing with more natural disasters, and how could new regulations affect them?
- What new trends in private investments are shaping insurers’ portfolios?
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Jeff is an Associate Managing Director overseeing the North American team covering US regional banks as well as Canadian banks. Jeff joined the banking team from Moody’s Credit Strategy & Standards where he focused most recently on Public Finance after a long period focused on Financial Institutions.
Jeff joined Moody’s in 2003 as the accounting specialist supporting the insurance sectors and was one of the founding members of Moody’s Accounting Specialists Group, whose role is to also publish research on complex reporting topics. In 2004, Jeff changed his primarily role to that of a fundamental credit analyst within the US property & casualty insurance team and over time transitioned to a Group Credit Officer supporting the Financial Institution Group before moving to his current role.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Jeff spent 12 years in public accounting, most recently with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP where he was a Senior Manager in the Insurance Audit Practice in New York City. Jeff’s previous experience included a tour in the Accounting Consulting Services Group of PwC’s National Office. Jeff is a Certified Public Accountant and graduated magna cum laude from Skidmore College in New York.
Michael Yake is Associate Managing Director in the Sub-Sovereign Group for Moody’s Ratings. Based in Toronto, Michael leads the team of analysts for the Canadian Sub-Sovereign portfolio which covers provinces, municipalities and a wide selection of government related issuers in Canada. He is also a co-manager of the non-US portfolio of Moody’s Global Higher Education group which includes institutions in Canada, Singapore, Australia and the United Kingdom. He joined Moody’s in 2011.
Michael also assumed the role of Moody's Ratings Country Manager for Canada in 2022,overseeing Moody's activities in the country and acting as senior point of contact to issuers and other market participants.
Michael has a broad background in public policy, finance and economics. Prior to joining Moody’s, he was a Senior Economist with the Bank of Canada in their Quebec regional office. He has also held various positions with other federal government departments.
Michael holds an M.A. in economics from Queen’s University and a B.A. in economics from the University of Western Ontario.
Jeff is an Associate Managing Director overseeing the North American team covering US regional banks as well as Canadian banks. Jeff joined the banking team from Moody’s Credit Strategy & Standards where he focused most recently on Public Finance after a long period focused on Financial Institutions.
Jeff joined Moody’s in 2003 as the accounting specialist supporting the insurance sectors and was one of the founding members of Moody’s Accounting Specialists Group, whose role is to also publish research on complex reporting topics. In 2004, Jeff changed his primarily role to that of a fundamental credit analyst within the US property & casualty insurance team and over time transitioned to a Group Credit Officer supporting the Financial Institution Group before moving to his current role.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Jeff spent 12 years in public accounting, most recently with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP where he was a Senior Manager in the Insurance Audit Practice in New York City. Jeff’s previous experience included a tour in the Accounting Consulting Services Group of PwC’s National Office. Jeff is a Certified Public Accountant and graduated magna cum laude from Skidmore College in New York.
Peter covers a broad portfolio of global investment, Canadian and US Regional banks and securities firms.
Prior to joining Moody’s Ratings, Peter led a team at Deutsche Bank that was responsible for managing the bank’s exposure to US broker-dealers. Peter also worked at JPMorgan Chase managing trading and derivatives counterparty risk with regulated financial institutions and hedge funds. Peter holds a B.A. in Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
40+ years’ professional experience (including 25+ years at Moody’s Ratings).
Robert Colangelo is Vice President for the North America Financial Institutions Group. Based in Toronto, he is a lead credit analyst for the largest Canadian banks and insurance companies and publishes related research on these institutions as well as the banking and insurance sectors.
Rob joined Moody’s in June 2021. Before joining Moody’s, Rob worked at another credit rating agency based in Toronto where he was a lead analyst on the large Canadian banks and various credit unions and other financial institutions in Canada. Rob also held a wide range of senior level positions in Finance at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), including roles in External Reporting, Investor Relations and performance management reporting and forecasting. Rob holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CA).
Will Wootton is an Analyst in the Financial Institutions Group of Moody’s Ratings covering a portfolio of Canadian banks, finance companies, pension plans, and insurers. He joined Moody’s in April of 2025 after spending approximately five years at another rating agency, providing lead analytical oversight for the credit ratings of a variety of non-bank financial institutions in both Canada and the United States. Will also worked on the global credit products desk at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and in debt capital markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Will received both a BBA (with high distinction) and an MBA (with cooperative education) from Wilfrid Laurier University, where he also worked as a research assistant while completing his studies.
Bruce Ballentine is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer in the insurance rating group at Moody’s Ratings. He is the lead analyst for several major property & casualty insurers as well as insurance brokers and service companies. He also writes and speaks on various insurance industry themes. Bruce has worked at Moody’s since 2005 and in 1991-1995, and has done insurance related work at ABN AMRO Bank and The Bank of New York. Bruce holds a BA in geology from Harvard College and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Robert Colangelo is Vice President for the North America Financial Institutions Group. Based in Toronto, he is a lead credit analyst for the largest Canadian banks and insurance companies and publishes related research on these institutions as well as the banking and insurance sectors.
Rob joined Moody’s in June 2021. Before joining Moody’s, Rob worked at another credit rating agency based in Toronto where he was a lead analyst on the large Canadian banks and various credit unions and other financial institutions in Canada. Rob also held a wide range of senior level positions in Finance at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), including roles in External Reporting, Investor Relations and performance management reporting and forecasting. Rob holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CA).
Manoj Jethani is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer in the US life insurance team within the Financial Institutions Group at Moody’s Ratings where he is a lead analyst and has responsibility for a portfolio of North American life insurers.
Prior to joining Moody’s in 2006, he worked as an actuary at a private actuarial consulting firm in Stamford, CT and as a credit analyst at Mashreq Bank in Dubai, UAE.
Manoj holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems and Finance from the University of Connecticut and holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) with a specialization in Banking, Strategy and Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Jeff is an Associate Managing Director overseeing the North American team covering US regional banks as well as Canadian banks. Jeff joined the banking team from Moody’s Credit Strategy & Standards where he focused most recently on Public Finance after a long period focused on Financial Institutions.
Jeff joined Moody’s in 2003 as the accounting specialist supporting the insurance sectors and was one of the founding members of Moody’s Accounting Specialists Group, whose role is to also publish research on complex reporting topics. In 2004, Jeff changed his primarily role to that of a fundamental credit analyst within the US property & casualty insurance team and over time transitioned to a Group Credit Officer supporting the Financial Institution Group before moving to his current role.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Jeff spent 12 years in public accounting, most recently with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP where he was a Senior Manager in the Insurance Audit Practice in New York City. Jeff’s previous experience included a tour in the Accounting Consulting Services Group of PwC’s National Office. Jeff is a Certified Public Accountant and graduated magna cum laude from Skidmore College in New York.