International Securities Lending Association (ISLA)

Attending the Securities Finance Symposium on the 12th November? Don't miss ISLA's Adrian Dale and Farrah Mahmood in action. Farrah will be joined by Ed Oliver, Jonathan T., Kevin McNulty and Jonathan Lee for a Regulation panel moderated by Sean Tuffy. The panel will deep dive in to the ever-evolving regulatory landscape and explore what might in store for the industry in 2025. Later in the day, Adrian will be on the Accelerated Settlement panel alongside Gabi Mantle, Bill Meenaghan and Matt Johnson. Moderated by Andy Krangel, the panel will look at learnings from early adopters and consider the road ahead for the UK and EU transition to T+1. Read the full agenda here: https://hubs.ly/Q02Xx8d20 #ISLANews #Meettheteam #SecuritiesFinance

“A house divided cannot stand” This was an Arabic proverb quoted by the Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Michael Mainelli, in his welcoming remarks, as he opened proceedings at the inaugural CMF Select Saudi-UK Dialogue 2024 event, that various of members of the ISLA team had the privilege of attending on Tuesday. Co-hosted by Saudi Tadawul Group, the 9th largest exchange globally, and His Majesty's Government, the event brought together government leaders, dignitaries, as well as representatives from across a range of industries, including financial services in Saudi Arabia and in the UK, to further deepen cross-border cooperation and unlock opportunities between both countries. Amongst the many panels and speeches that spoke about the broader aims of the KSA’s ‘Vision 2030’ strategy, including diversification from hydro carbons and non-renewable energy sources, to new and emerging sectors such as healthcare, education and fintech, there was notable resonance for ISLA in the comments from His Excellency Mr. Mohammed bin Abdullah El-Kuwaiz, Chairman of the CMA, on the importance of building out a strong and liquid capital markets eco-system. Daily trading volumes have almost doubled in recent times, largely due to factors such as international investment, IPOs, changes in investor composition, the inclusion to major global indices, as well as deploying levers such as market making. There has also been a sharp increase in the number of Qualified Foreign Investors from 50 pre-COVID to over 4000 today, showing strong interest in the Saudi market from international investors. At ISLA, we believe and strongly advocate that securities lending is integral to the development of a deep, liquid and vibrant capital markets eco-system in both developed and emerging economies. Working with our members, the KSA has been a considerable area of focus for the Association, alongside the broader region. This year we published our first Middle East Securities Borrowing & Lending Guide, which focussed on the Kingdom. Members can download a copy of the report here: https://hubs.ly/Q02XgRT-0 At the end of the month, an ISLA delegation will be visiting the region, including the Kingdom, to continue our dialogue with regulators, policy makers, and domestic stake holders alike. Over the coming months, we will then look to publish further country-specific guides for key jurisdictions, providing members and wider market participants with an overview of the current securities borrowing and lending market as well as a detailed view of current regulatory and market frameworks and an outlook of netting legislation in each respective country. It was great to see many familiar faces and ISLA Members in attendance including; Matthew Rex; Ina Budh-Raja; Ed Oliver; Barry Withnell; Stephen O'Donnell; Jonathan T.; Matthew Neville; Julio Ancochea; Clare Bromiley-Carmen Tina Baker; Sejal Amin; Andrew Dyson; Farrah Mahmood; Fredrik Carstens

🎬 Time to draw the curtains on the 14th Annual Post Trade Conference. In the final session of the day, Michael Brown challenged his panel to answer 'where do we go from now’. With a focus on the DLT, Blockchain, Tokenisation and CBDC – the panel discussed the main barriers to adoption. With the audience expecting adoption to be over the next 5-10 years, the panel stressed the need for the market to need to coalesce around some key use cases as no single organisation can lead the charge so the ecosystem needs to come together. ISLA’s Ex-Officio, Jonathan Lombardo closed out the day. Reflecting on the day's discussions, Johnathan highlighted his three main takeaways: 💪 Resilience - to be resilient means to have a critical eye on any new technology 📈 Efficiency – We need efficiency across every aspect of our business, not just post trade. 💵 Investment – Resilience and Efficiency comes at a cost, and when the ROI of many new initiatives may be over a 5 year timeline, do we have the data necessary to get the internal buy-in. And with that, Johnathan than brought to a close the conference, and what better way to close out another successful Post Trade conference than with an ISLA Connects networking reception to give delegates the change to digest and reflect on the day. Cheers! Thank you to all of our sponsors, speakers, panellists, moderators and delegates for joining us for our 14th Annual Post Trade Conference. 👀 Keep your eyes peeled for a full event write up coming soon.

🎬 With the scene firmly set, Jim O'Brien kicked off our next panel by asking “Why, even with better technologies, and the ever-present threat of CSDR penalties, is there a settlement problem in the securities lending markets of Europe?” The panel explored everything from legacy systems, the challenge of prioritising tomorrow’s problems over today’s emergencies, the role of standards and the vital need for accurate data. As one panellist commented, data gives the industry the opportunity to drive its own narrative whereas poor data can lead to harsher regulation. To this end, the need for data standards and the role of the CDM was highlighted as a necessity for the industry. ‘Collateral Crossroads: Unlocking Efficiency in Securities Finance’, moderated by Rebecca Bridgeman, CFA, explored the challenges and opportunities arising from the evolving collateral management space. In a world hungry for collateral, the panel discussed how the demands have changed, the promise of digital and DLT solutions and the need to break down collateral silos. At the heart of the solutions to many of the challenges our sector faces, is the role of third-party vendors and platforms. ISLA’s Andrew Dyson moderated our next panel ‘Collaboration versus Fragmentation’ bringing together some of the leading players in the space for an exploration into the balance between having a competitiveness edge and working towards interoperability. 🏁 On to the final session! EventRock #ISLAEvents #ISLAPostTrade2024 #SecuritiesLending #PostTrade

⏸️ As we break for lunch, what better time to recap on the morning’s events. Following welcome remarks from conference chair, Davina Stickland, ISLA’s Andrew Dyson and Adrian Dale outlined some key ISLA 2024 deliverables as well as a look ahead to 2025. From launching ISLA Americas to increasing our focus in the Middle East, and from publishing the Digital Asset Annex to our ever-growing advocacy efforts in line with our Manifesto, 2024 has been a landmark year for the organisation with 2025 shaping up to be even busier. Deutsche Bank’s Mark Wall then took the stage to provide a macro- economic outlook. With Donald Trump claiming victory in the presidential election, Mark highlighted the potential impact of US tariffs, evolving China relations and more nationalistic industrial and investment strategies, on the EU economy. With the EU vulnerable to many external factors, the outlook will be highly dependent on how resilient it can be in an increasingly uncertain world. Our conference Keynote, Andrea Gentilini, GFR then provided the regulatory context for the day. Andrea clarified any misconception in the room by stating that regulation is not the goal of regulators, but it is a tool to meet the goal of reducing systemic risk and boosting competitiveness. Focusing on the post trade space, Andrea stressed the importance of commitment across the whole value chain to improve settlement efficiencies and that while AI continues to grow, it is important to address legacy data challenges before tackling the opportunities of the future. The first panel of the day, moderated by ISLA’s Simon Waddington then explored the key drivers of change in our industry. With both the borrower and lender side represented, the panel discussed emerging investment strategies in light of changing rates, the blurring lines between securities lending and repo, as well as the ever increasing focus on operational resilience and the evolving regulatory space. With an audience poll highlighting Cyber Security as the number one disruptive threat, the panel stressed the importance of looking at resilience not only systems but also key processes and procedures. EventRock #ISLAEvents #ISLAPosttrade2024 #SecuritiesLending #PostTrade

📣Today’s the Day! After months of planning, and with finishing touches completed, it’s almost time to open the doors to the ISLA 14th Annual Post Trade Conference in London. With over 30 leading industry figures covering the critical topics shaping the post trade landscape and with nearly 300 delegates registered, this year’s event is one not to miss. From the issues driving innovation, to the risks of fragmentation, today’s conference will explore the past, present and future of post trade and address why legacy challenges, like achieving ‘interoperability’, are still not a reality. Our conference Chair, BlackRock’s Davina Stickland will kick off the day’s proceedings with Deutsche Bank’s Mark Wall exploring the economic impacts of geopolitics, before our keynote, Andrea Gentilini, GFR, helps set the regulatory context of the day. For delegates joining us, don’t forget to download the ISLA Events App. Use it to ask questions and answer polls, manage your event profile, view and message delegates, and much more to enhance your event experience! Unable to join us? Keep tuned to our LinkedIn page for live updates throughout the day! EventRock #ISLAEvents #ISLAPosttrade2024 #SecuritiesLending #PostTrade

We are delighted to confirm AFME (Association for Financial Markets in Europe), Finadium, Risk.net & Securities Finance Times as Event & Media Partners of the ISLA 14th Annual Post Trade Conference in London on the 6 November 2024! For full event details visit: https://hubs.la/Q02WCxHf0 #ISLAEvents #ISLAPostTrade2024 #securitieslending #securitiesfinance #posttrade

We are delighted to confirm State Street as a sponsor of the ISLA 14th Annual Post Trade Conference in London on the 6 November 2024! For full event details, including the full agenda visit: https://hubs.la/Q02WkQwQ0 #ISLAEvents #ISLAPostTrade2024 #securitieslending #securitiesfinance #posttrade

📢 Let's Talk Digital! Read our latest blog here: https://hubs.la/Q02WjPlp0 In our latest digital blog post, ISLA's Adrian Dale explores some of the drivers behind the technological developments in our industry and the potential pitfalls arising from the pace of change. Adrian dives into: 💼 The influence of regulation on innovation in securities lending 🔨 The perils of building the 'new; using the complexity of the 'old' 📃 The need for standards and the role of the CDM Many of the themes discussed in the blog will be covered at the our upcoming 14th Annual Post Trade conference on the 6 November. With registration closing by end of business today, now's your last chance to join nearly 300 market participants to explore the topics and developments influencing the daily operation and post trade flows associated with the securities finance business. ✒️ Final chance to register here: https://hubs.la/Q02WjSS_0 #ISLABlog #ISLANews #innovation #digital #CDM #CommonDomainModel #t1 #acceleratedsettlement #bestpractice #capitalmarkets #securitieslending #securitiesfinance