Dear Colleagues
Welcome to the February issue of Focus.
We are pleased to have two contributions this month on the important topic of regulatory coherence, or equivalence, a key strategic priority for the WFE in 2019. We hear from Mark Wetjen, Managing Director, Head of Global Public Policy, DTCC & Chairman of the Board, DTCC Deriv/SERV LLC on the role that market structure reforms and international standards bodies can play in mitigating the risks of market fragmentation; and from Lukas Gähwiler, Chairman, UBS Switzerland AG & Member of the Board, Swiss Finance Council who writes that regulatory coherence in the area of financial services is in need of closer cooperation, more convergence, and more legal certainty.
We have a fascinating article from André d’Almeida Monteiro, Chief Risk Officer, B3 who takes us on a journey through the evolution of the art of risk management, tracing its roots right back from Renaissance Europe to the present day. And Julie Becker, Head of the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX) & Member of the Executive Committee of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange outlines six key trends for green finance in 2019.
It has been a very busy month in the WFE office: we published our five strategic priorities for 2019 - regulatory coherence or market fragmentation; technology-related policy work on topics including initial coin offerings (ICOs), crypto assets and cyber resilience; environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in market structure; clarifying the nature of market data; and CCP-related capital matters. The WFE Regulatory Affairs Team also responded to the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) discussion paper on financial resources to support CCP resolution and the treatment of CCP equity in resolution; and the WFE Research & Statistics Team published the 2018 full year market highlights report.
This month, the WFE Research & Statistics Team’s monthly insights piece looks at trends in median simple spreads in 2018. It can be found alongside our latest monthly dashboard and market statistics.
We are looking forward to welcoming many of you to the WFE Emerging Markets Forum on Thursday 14 March in London. The one-day event will explore in more detail the two most recent research reports from the WFE on the topic of international investing in emerging markets, along with sessions on how to build liquidity, and the role of post-trade in emerging markets. The event will also review the work of the WFE’s Emerging Markets Working Group (EMWG), and examine the key role of the WFE as one of the leading stakeholders in the emerging markets debate.
There are less than five weeks to go until IOMA: WFE’s 36th Clearing & Derivatives Conference 2019 (Mumbai, 2-4 April), so please do ensure that you register as soon as possible for what is shaping up to be an incredibly rich and vibrant two days of debate on the critical clearing and derivatives issues with the global leaders of this industry.
The second WFEWorking Committee meeting is taking place in Zurich on Wednesday 12 June; please do add this to your diaries.
And the bi-annual WFE Technology Conference will be held 30 June - 2 July in Umea, Sweden. Please look out for more information on the event website, which will be launched in due course.
We look forward to seeing you all in March. Thank you.
Nandini Sukumar
Chief Executive Officer
The WFE