Diana Chan, CEO, EuroCCP discusses the WFE Working Committee Meetings

Diana Chan tells us why the WFE Working Committee Meetings are so important.

When I first learnt about WFE’s activities in the area post-trade, it struck me as a bit unusual. Trading, clearing and settlement had seemed to be as separate territories as air, land and sea.

But then I saw the logic. Although it all starts with trading, the financial crisis has highlighted the need for all parts of the ecosystem to be robust and in sync. EuroCCP became an affiliate member of WFE shortly after.

The WFE Working Committee is a forum where issues which are significant to financial infrastructures are discussed – people come to learn and to share knowledge. If it a subject is important in a way which has implications across national and regional boundaries, it will be on the Working Committee’s agenda. Representatives from WFE member organisations are knowledgeable professionals who attend meetings with a common purpose to further the business interests of the infrastructure community and the clients we serve. The output of this collaboration is evident in the many clear and insightful papers published by the WFE.

I participated in the Working Committee’s January meeting in Frankfurt on a panel on interoperability among central counterparties. The panel was organised following a request from a WFE member organisation. Fellow panellists were from as far afield as America and Asia. This panel is illustrative of the way that the WFE works with its membership, and its ability to draw upon global experience. I am very happy to have had the opportunity to share and to learn at the same time.