As part of the 10th Securities Services Conference, organised by Cecabank, representatives of the Spanish National Securities Market Commission, the Bank of Spain and the main banks, fund managers and technology companies, analysed trends in the post-trading sector in an environment conditioned by the digital transformation and the regulatory framework
The impact of Artificial Intelligence, the evolution of post-trading infrastructures, the regulation of digital assets and the future of custodian services in Europe were the topics discussed at the main Spanish forum on post-trading
Cecabank, the Spanish wholesale bank that offers specialised services in securities, treasury management and payments, has brought together the Spanish post-trading industry at the 10th Securities Services Conference to analyse the future of the sector. The post-trading industry's main Spanish forum has brought together, under the title 'Digital Assets, AI and Regulation: keys to the future of post-trading', the professionals that enable the securities market to function - banks, fund managers, supervisors, regulators and technology companies - at the Professional Association of Architects of Madrid (COAM).
The event was opened by Rodrigo Buenaventura, Chairman of the Spanish National Securities Market Commission, who stressed: 'Post-trading has attracted more reform and regulatory attention than any other part of the European financial system over the last decade. And it is as important, if not more, than the world of trading for the security and competitiveness of securities markets'.
He was accompanied by José María Méndez, CEO of Cecabank, who pointed out that: 'We are part of a critical sector that encompasses trading and post-trading support, which is why at Cecabank we focus on listening to our customers, accompanying them as their closest partners in their projects and goals, together strengthening the Spanish financial system', to which he added: "Throughout 2024, we will address recent legislative and regulatory updates in the securities market with a special focus on the digital asset business'.
The tenth edition of the conference, which brought together more than 320 professionals from 170 companies and institutions, was organised around four main themes for the post-trading sector: The impact of Artificial Intelligence, the evolution of post-trading infrastructures, the dynamism of digital assets and their regulatory framework, and the future of custodian services in Europe, which have been addressed during two round tables and two talks.
The first debate, entitled 'Artificial Intelligence as a differential value in investment services', featured the participation of Salvador Mas, CEO of GPTadvisor, María Vidal, partner at finReg360, and Laura Comas, board member of CaixaBank AM and Director of Private Banking Development and Transformation at CaixaBank. The debate was moderated by Aurora Cuadros, Corporate Director of the Securities Services Division at Cecabank.
The second round table discussion 'Crypto & Digital Assets, regulatory framework and opportunities in the value chain', moderated by Virginia Linares, Director of Coordination and Control of Securities Services at Cecabank, featured Andrei Manuel Costache, COO of Bit2Me, Yael H. Oaknín, co-founder and CEO of Tokencity, and Israel Rodríguez, Director of Innovation at Unicaja.
The programme was completed with two talks. Carlos Conesa, Deputy Managing Director of Market Payments and Infrastructures at the Bank of Spain, gave a talk on 'Post-trading and market infrastructures: evolution and improvements'. In turn, Jesús Benito, CEO of Iberclear, BME, spoke about the 'Past and future of custodian services in Europe. Challenges and issues'.
Gloria Hernández, partner at finReg360 and representative of ADEPO, closed the conference.
Cecabank, strategic provider of differential services in post-trading
The bank offers all post-trading services of negotiable securities and financial instruments such as depositary, registry-custody, clearing and settlement of securities, and it is the largest independent national depositary for collective investment institutions, pension funds, voluntary contribution pension schemes and venture capital firms, and the leading national provider of settlement and custody services.
Cecabank is also the leading custodian bank in Securities Services in Spain and Portugal, with equity under deposit in excess of €225 billion and close to €315 billion in assets under custody. Its differential position is based on its independence, given that the bank does not belong to a retail banking group, and on its neutrality, actively collaborating with fund managers on regulatory, operational and business aspects, providing a guarantee not to compete with its customers. These two attributes, together with the high quality service and the trust it conveys to its customers, have enabled it to amass a customer portfolio of 100 institutions by the end of 2023, including asset management firms, credit institutions, securities firms and agencies, insurance and mutual insurance companies and customers from other areas of the industry. To this we must add its high level of solvency. The bank closed 2023 with a ratio of 35.32%, one of the highest in the financial system and considerably higher than the legal requirements.
For more than a decade, the bank has consolidated its position as an essential infrastructure of the Spanish financial system and is growing as a trusted and strategic partner. By consolidating its innovative B2B business model that provides services to other market players, it constantly seeks to accompany its customers wherever their business is located. For this reason, the bank is embarking on 2024 with a roadmap in which it has set itself two major challenges: to open an operational branch in Luxembourg to provide depositary services to its fund management customers and to continue adding features to one of its differentiating services, the tax service in collaboration with WTax, for which it seeks to include the recovery of withholding taxes before the Court of Justice of the European Union for those funds to which the depositary and custody service is provided.
