Agenda

With inflation at its highest for several decades this session will look at the current macro-economic, political, and regulatory landscapes as the global economy continues to weather the waves of the COVID pandemic, post-Brexit consequences, and the impacts of the recent Ukraine-Russia conflict.

As opposed to closing this year’s conference, and following on from the macro perspectives outlined earlier, senior figures from across the securities finance industry will continue to set the scene, sharing their experiences of 2022, and thoughts on the remainder of the year and beyond. How are their businesses adapting to the post-Brexit world where equivalence seems increasingly unlikely, and the economic and social recovery from the pandemic is demanding fresh thinking in many areas? What key business and client demands are driving their trading decisions and product roadmaps? Any predictions for the future?

Continuing the theme of updates, this panel will look at the aforementioned challenges and opportunities through the lens of fellow industry associations. Set against a backdrop of different regulatory and business priorities of their members, the various representatives will provide delegates with the opportunity to hear about key developments within adjacent markets, and how greater cross-market collaboration for standardisation, can drive efficiencies and help meet common objectives.

A general overview of the Turkish capital markets and an update on the work that ISLA has been leading on behalf of our members to better understand the specific regulatory and operational requirements for securities borrowing and lending. This is an ideal opportunity to hear directly from the policy makers in  Türkiye on their plans to encourage greater participation in their markets from the international investment community.

The support for new markets and the search to unlock new liquidity is at the heart of our industry. Now a regular feature of the agenda, this session will explore some of the new and existing opportunities across developing and evolving securities lending markets, including the Middle East, Africa and China. The session will also explore how varied tools and techniques, such as pledge, are unlocking new liquidity in existing markets and how capital regimes such as Basel IV may reshape the way borrowers think about lending supply.

The keynote address will focus on the role financial services industry, and in particular asset managers in the context of sustainability. It will explain the mission of the UN PRI and how it works to deliver on its objectives and overcome the challenges responsible investment presents. It will also explore the trends in the behaviour of the PRI signatories that include thousands of asset managers and asset owners of whom large numbers look to employ ever more sophisticated ways of incorporating ESG considerations into investment decisions.

It is well known that ESG has become an important factor in investment decision-making, but to what degree has it directly influenced the holdings of institutional investors and their engagement over proxy votes? What about the investment strategies of short-sellers? The presentation will aim to answer these questions with a unique empirical study of ESG’s effect on the global equities lending market, combining equities lending, ESG, and proxy vote data to quantify the impact ESG has had on lending supply, short selling demand, and institutional engagement over proxy record dates

Our final panel of the opening day will once again look at our industry through the sustainability lens. Set against the pledges made at COP26 and as economies continue to emerge from COVID-induced hibernation, the role of sustainability will increasingly shape investment behaviours and desired outcomes. During the past twelve months, we have actively moved the ESG debate from a conceptually-based abstract discussion, to one of delivering real value to our members and wider industry stakeholders in the form of best practice. How we take this forward, and the challenges to align our industry with the wider sustainability agenda, will define much of the next decade.

Open to all registered Beneficial Owners of the conference, this networking event will be an opportunity to meet with peers to exchange experiences, views and ideas about developments in the wider financing markets. Amongst other things, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from the Chairs of the ISLA Beneficial Owner Steering Group, about some of the key initiatives that the group have been working on for the benefit of the wider buyside community (Pre-registration for this event is required by emailing events@islamea.org).

Open to all conference delegates, inclusive of all genders, this networking event will be an opportunity for Women in Securities Finance members to connect with others in the industry in an informal setting and cross paths with the growing membership across the London Chapter.

If you’re interested in attending please RSVP, by contacting either Ina Budh-Raja or Harpreet Bains the  London Chapter leads.

Following the opening day of formal keynotes, panels and presentations, we will be hosting a networking drinks reception at the Kursalon (opposite the Marriot, Vienna) . This exclusive and splendid building, where the Vienna Ring Boulevard meets the green of the City Park, was the venue for our 25th anniversary celebrations in 2016.

The story of how regulators supervise the industry will change. We are on the cusp of a much-needed paradigm shift, in which the future of reporting is no reporting.

Traditional push-style regulatory reporting is dead! Or is it? As we see potentially the final instances of transparency reporting emerge from the SEC and FINRA, the opening panel of the final day will discuss whether the industry is ready to move to this type of model in order to deal with oncoming regulation.

Looking at two platforms that use blockchain technology to shape the next generation: native issuance on-chain vs. mobilisation of traditional assets using DLT.

In an increasingly complex world, with many possible solutions and routes to success, the penultimate panel will discuss the necessity to collaborate across organisations to converge on standards quickly and efficiently. A particular focus will be open-source development, relatively new to the traditionally conservative world of financial institutions, and its role in the future success of the Common Domain Model.

As the conference sessions come to a close, the final panel will discuss new opportunities that digital assets provide for collateral, custody and securities lending.