BlackRock Sees Distress Still Lurking Despite Drop in Bankruptcies “Just because you’re not seeing bankruptcy filings doesn’t mean there isn’t distress,” says Mark Kronfeld, a managing director with BlackRock. Bloomberg | Apr 20, 2021 (Bloomberg)—Availability of cheap credit has masked distress, but it’s still out there, says BlackRock managing director Mark Kronfeld. You just have to know where to look. “Just because you’re not seeing bankruptcy filings doesn’t mean there isn’t distress,” said Kronfeld, a member of the global credit platform at BlackRock Inc., which manages $9 trillion in assets. There will be fewer traditional bankruptcies -- besides pre-packaged filings -- as long as there’s enough liquidity to ride out the pandemic, according to Kronfeld, who focuses on special situations and distressed investments. Still, there may be more bankruptcy filings in the sectors most impacted by the pandemic, including retail and energy, Kronfeld said.