ISLA looks towards a new chapter beyond post-crisis regulation
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ISLA looks towards a new chapter beyond post-crisis regulation 14 October 2019 London Reporter: Maddie Saghir
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The International Securities Lending Association (ISLA) is looking to redefine its role as an industry representative in a post-regulatory implementation framework that the securities lending market will find its self in, come 2021.
At ISLA’s Post Trade event on 01 October, ISLA’s CEO, Andrew Dyson, gave an update to members to explain that the association is evolving to reflect the changing needs of its members and broader stakeholder community.
As part of its recognition of the new chapter in its existence, ISLA is drafting a manifesto on the role of securities lending across the EU27 and its place in the market.
Specifically, Dyson said the association will move on from focusing on incoming regulations to address other industry concerns such as promoting efforts towards the digitalisation of market processes.
In a blog post after the event, Dyson emphasised some of the differences of opinion in the industry and some of the key takeaways of the conference. The blog read: “Despite some feeling that the industry lacks innovation and creativity, others felt that innovation was there and it just needs to be recognised.”
“The Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) and the Central Securities Depository Regulation (CSDR) are driving changes in behaviours, some of which is overdue in terms of the post-trade world we all live in.”
Dyson went on to state that SFTR, in particular, has set the industry along a digital road which will realise incremental benefits over time. “It will be incumbent upon us all to think about how we do that,” he wrote.
Digital regulatory reporting was also a topic of discussion at the conference, and it was highlighted that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently undertook a small scale trial on how digital reporting may be used, over time, to replace existing reports or rules-based reporting obligations.
Francesca Hopwood Road, head of RegTech and advanced analytics at the FCA, explained that these trials identified significant potential cost and time savings over existing data gathering frameworks.
ISLA’s blog summarised: “To make these digitalised environments work effectively, it was noted that there needs to be a high quality and universal set of principles around data and life cycle events.”
“Without this, digital reporting will be no more efficient than its present-day equivalent. In this regard, the work that ISLA is leading in the creation of a digitalised world for our markets was highlighted from the floor.”
Dyson said that ISLA has been told that the FCA will come forward with further ideas in this area “in due course”.
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