Changing State of the US Consumer
Impacts from diverging household conditions
Overview
U.S. consumer fundamentals remain a key driver of credit performance, but the benefits of economic resilience are increasingly uneven. Higher prices, slowing labor momentum, and elevated borrowing costs are pressuring lower income households, while wealth gains and balance sheet strength continue to support spending among higher income consumers. This income and wealth divergence is reshaping credit risk across consumer exposed sectors.
Join Moody’s Ratings analysts for a cross-sector discussion on how these contrasting household experiences are influencing credit quality across autos, airlines, and consumer linked ABS—and what that means as the economy moves into a softer phase of the cycle.
- How is the polarization between higher and lower income U.S. households driving consumer behavior, and what does that divergence mean for consumer-focused sectors such as autos, airlines, and electronics?
- To what extent will the relative strength of upper income households continue to support credit performance in these sectors—and for how long?
- As economic growth softens, which sectors are best positioned to weather a more uneven consumer backdrop, and where are credit risks most likely to diverge significantly?
Speakers
Deepika Kothari
Associate Managing Director, Consumer Asset-Backed Securities, Structured Finance Group
Moody's Ratings
Claire Li
Vice President - Senior Analyst, Credit Strategy and Guidance
Moody's Ratings
Rene Lipsch
Associate Managing Director, Corporate Finance
Moody’s Ratings
Kevin McNeil
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Moody's Ratings
Peter Trombetta
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Moody's Ratings
Selven Veeraragoo
Vice President – Senior Analyst, Structured Finance Group
Moody’s Ratings
Motoki Yanase
Vice President - Senior Credit Officer, Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Ratings
Confirm cancellation
An error occurred trying to play the stream. Please reload the page and try again.
CloseMoody's Events
close
Deepika Kothari is an Associate Managing Director with Moody’s Ratings. She currently heads the US Consumer ABS surveillance team within the Structured Finance Group, responsible for monitoring of secured and unsecured consumer ABS transactions. She is also the global research coordinator for the Structured Finance Group, responsible for ensuring global alignment on the group’s research efforts. Prior to her current role on the Consumer ABS team, she led the US Residential Mortgage Backed Securities New Ratings team within the Structured Finance Group, where she was responsible for overseeing the ratings analytics of new RMBS transactions.
Deepika has held various leadership roles within Consumer ABS since joining Moody’s in 2005 and has had a major role in the ratings analytics and surveillance of RMBS and ABS. She has published extensively on various topics related to consumer credit and ratings methodologies and presented our opinion at various webinars and conferences. Prior to joining Moody’s, Deepika worked for HSBC in India for three years in credit and operations. Deepika holds a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from Mumbai, India, an M.B.A from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and an M.S. in Finance from Boston College.
Claire Li is a Vice President within Moody’s Credit Strategy and Research Group. Based in New York, she frequently publishes macro and thematic research and undertakes macroeconomic analysis and forecasting for G20 economies to support Moody’s Macroeconomic Board. Claire contributes to Moody’s annual sovereign default research and analyzes sovereign debt default and restructurings.
Claire joined Moody’s in 2015. Claire holds a M.A. in Economics from New York University, a B.A. in Economics from Fudan University, China, and B.S. in International Economics and Business from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands
Rene Lipsch is an Associate Managing Director in the Corporate Finance Group at Moody’s Ratings, where he heads the US Automotive, Transportation & Capital Goods team.
Prio to his current role, Rene was a Senior Vice President in the same group, with responsibility for a portfolio of investment-grade and high-yield US automotive and capital goods issuers, following earlier coverage of the transportation sector.
Before joining Moody’s in 2013, Rene spent nine years in investment banking in London, working in Equity Capital Markets at Credit Suisse and in Corporate Finance at Merrill Lynch. Earlier in his career, he was a Dutch and international tax advisor with Loyens & Loeff in Rotterdam and Hong Kong.
Rene holds an M.Sc. in Finance from London Business School and a M.Sc. in Economics from Erasmus University in Rotterdam.
Kevin McNeil is a Vice President- Senior Analyst in the Corporate Finance Group, Technology, Media and Telco team in New York. Kevin is responsible for the ratings of a portfolio of technology and technology-enabled services companies. Prior to joining Moody's in 2022, Kevin worked for five years at Fitch Ratings as a director and analytical lead for technology, information services and business services companies. Prior to Fitch, Kevin was a Vice President at NatWest, a Senior Associate at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a Consultant for Accenture. Kevin has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA specializing in Finance & Economics from Columbia University.
Pete Trombetta, a Vice President-Senior Analyst on the Manufacturing, Aerospace, Defense, Lodging Team, is responsible for a portfolio of lodging, cruise and diversified manufacturing companies. Previously, Pete covered companies in the restaurant, gaming, retail, and apparel industries. Before joining Moody’s in August 2005, Pete was an Assistant Vice President in the capital recovery group and lending groups at PNC Bank.
Pete received a B.A. in Psychology from Widener University and an MBA from the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University
Selven Veeraragoo is a Vice President – Senior Analyst in the Structured Finance Group at Moody’s Ratings. His primary responsibility is rating student loan ABS.
Prior to joining Moody’s in November 2012 , Selven worked as a Junior Professional Associate at the World Bank and interned at State Street Global Advisors.
Selven holds an M.S. in Economics from Tufts University and an undergraduate degree in Economics and Business from Lafayette College.
Motoki Yanase is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group, covering a portfolio of US automotive manufacturing, car rental services and heavy manufacturing companies. Immediately prior to his current role, Motoki was covering a portfolio of US packaging and building products companies.
Prior to joining Corporate Finance Group in New York in 2021, Motoki covered Japanese companies in the automotive, telecommunications, technologies and beverage industries in Moody’s Japan for six years. Motoki also held credit positions at
Goldman Sachs and Aozora Bank, and, prior to these positions, he was an analyst at Moody’s Japan, covering industries including paper, specialty steel and non-ferrous metals.
He holds a BA from Keio University in Japan and an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago.