# #374 Chris Whalen: Fed Policy Losing Efficacy, Rate Hike Coming Anyway, Private Credit Defaults at 6% Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-julia-la-roche-show-5842803/374-chris-whalen-fed-policy-losing-efficacy-rate-hike-coming-anyway-private-credit-defaults-at-6 Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-julia-la-roche-show-5842803/374-chris-whalen-fed-policy-losing-efficacy-rate-hike-coming-anyway-private-credit-defaults-at-6.md Podcast: [The Julia La Roche Show](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-julia-la-roche-show-5842803) Published: 2026-05-30T12:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/julia-la-roche/episodes/374-Chris-Whalen-Fed-Policy-Losing-Efficacy--Rate-Hike-Coming-Anyway--Private-Credit-Defaults-at-6-e3k3aaa Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO2020131153.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-julia-la-roche-show-5842803/episodes/374-chris-whalen-fed-policy-losing-efficacy-rate-hike-coming-anyway-private-credit-defaults-at-6 Duration seconds: 2196 ## Resource In this episode of The Wrap, Chris Whalen reveals bank incomes are up but the real story is the trading side of the house driving earnings, not lending, as deposits grow faster than assets forcing banks into trading operations. He warns private credit default rates have hit a record 6%, nearly 10 times worse than bank default rates, signaling the end of the credit cycle as non-banks now lead lending. Whalen predicts double-digit inflation remains likely, expects QE5 to come despite Warsh's denials since the Fed balance sheet must grow proportionally with federal debt, and argues Fed policy is losing efficacy against external war-driven inflation that raising rates won't fix. He discusses massive housing consolidation and M&A deals coming as mortgage lenders face crushing higher rates, details how private equity is rolling up every service provider imaginable (plumbers, electricians, dentists, oncologists) and "screwing them up terribly," warns TIPS aren't reflecting true inflation, and predicts major housing lender mergers between now and year end. Whalen maintains his thesis that the Fed doesn't control long-term rates and that shrinking the balance sheet would be more effective than raising the Fed funds rate, argues the AI momentum trade is crowded and silly, and expects no action from the Fed in June but potential rate hike language removal from statements. Thank you to our partners at Goldco. Get your free 2026 Gold & Silver Kit at https://goldco.com/thewrap or call 855-573-0817 Links: The Institutional Risk Analyst: https://www.theinstitutionalriskanalyst.com/ The Wrap: https://www.theinstitutionalriskanalyst.com/post/theira847 Inflated book (2nd edition): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/inflated-r-christopher-whalen/1146303673 Twitter/X: https… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-julia-la-roche-show-5842803/episodes/374-chris-whalen-fed-policy-losing-efficacy-rate-hike-coming-anyway-private-credit-defaults-at-6/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-julia-la-roche-show-5842803/374-chris-whalen-fed-policy-losing-efficacy-rate-hike-coming-anyway-private-credit-defaults-at-6.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.