Credit voices: Catherine Bealin
Catherine is a seasoned credit professional and dedicated educator with over three decades of diverse experience spanning Wall Street, development finance, and sustainability. Her career reflects a robust intersection of technical expertise and a deep commitment to global issues such as climate resilience and economic development.
Catherine continues to blend her passion for finance and social impact in her current role, where she educates future leaders in credit and sustainable finance. Here, she shares her career story, advice, and reflections on a lifelong dedication to impactful lending and finance solutions.
Pursuing a career in credit
Surprisingly practical reasons initially guided Catherine into the field of credit during her early career. "Wall Street paid a lot more money than what I was earning in Washington, DC, which allowed me to pay off my graduate loans faster," she candidly admits. “My passion was development finance, and I realized that credit represents the core intersection between the issues I am passionate about and the finance that can enable additionality.”
Career highlights
“My foundational credit skills were developed when I joined Brown Brothers Harriman, a private Wall Street bank. At one of America’s oldest partnership banks, I was taught exceptional credit and client management skills.
After several years, I felt ready to transition this lending experience to development finance, so I moved to Luxembourg and joined the European Investment Bank. This is where my passion for climate finance and development lending took hold. I also really enjoyed living in Europe - I would have stayed forever, but personal family reasons necessitated a return to NYC.
At that time, my children were very young, so I decided to step back from front office lending and become a consultant to UNDP, among other organizations, primarily working on climate finance projects.
I have loved all my roles. I love working with clients, both existing and new prospects. I really enjoy the due diligence process, learning about a company’s business model and how that translates into funding requirements. One of my favorite activities was going on tours of manufacturing facilities - I’ve got some stories to tell….
On the side, I also work/volunteer on gender-focused social impact projects and I am a long-standing board member of a community-based environmental organization focused on habitat conservation and climate resiliency. I consider these “free time” activities to be part of my professional journey as well. They reflect agency and passion of regular people to drive our world forward one day at a time.
I’m proud of my entire career, which reflects the topics I am passionate about – climate, economics, finance and development – within the context of a practical and intentional arc of professional roles. It is important to have both a vision of your future career direction and to be open to unexpected opportunities that cross your path.”
Today, Catherine serves as a faculty trainer for the Global Institute of Credit Professionals and Fitch Learning.
“As a faculty trainer, I can combine all aspects of my career – corporate and financial institution credit, plus climate finance and sustainability. It’s like taking the best parts of a 30-year career! I would add that climate finance and sustainability is dynamic, complex and novel. This means that I must stay current, anticipate trends, and interpret policy shifts. I am constantly learning so that I can be the best trainer for our clients.”
Advice for aspiring credit professionals
For those new to the field, Catherine underscores the importance of starting at a reputable institution to develop foundational credit skills. "You’ll take these skills with you for the rest of your career," she advises. She also emphasizes the importance of being inquisitive and detail oriented. "I like to say a great credit analyst has a lot of Nancy Drew in her! Leave no line item or management forecast unquestioned," she adds.
Final thoughts
Catherine’s career exemplifies the power of combining technical expertise with a deeper sense of purpose. Her work across Wall Street, development finance, and sustainability showcases how credit professionals can influence complex issues on a global scale.
For those venturing into credit, Catherine’s advice is clear—build a strong technical foundation, stay inquisitive, question everything, and remain open to where your passions might take you.