24 February 2022
- Cecabank has organised the 8th Securities Services Conference, the most important Spanish post-trading forum, bringing together a large representation of the industry
- This new edition addressed current issues such as the latest developments in the regulatory framework, the impact of potentially disruptive technologies and ESG investment
Technology must be at the forefront of responsible and sustainable banking.
This is one of the main conclusions of the 8th edition of the Securities Services Conference, the most important Spanish post-trading forum, organised by Cecabank under the theme 'Post-trading opportunities in a sustainable and digital context'.
A large group of national and international experts have analysed the impact of technological, regulatory and sustainability changes on the collective investment industry. The event brought together representatives of banks, fund managers, supervisory bodies and technology companies, most notably the European Central Bank (ECB), the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), IOSCO, Iberclear-BME, Norbolsa SV, Clarity AI, Sustainalytics, Vigeo Eiris and Moody's ESG Solutions (V.E.).
The Cecabank conference, held both in person and online, drew more than 380 attendees from 160 institutions. Moderated by professionals from Cecabank, Invertia and Funds People, the experts discussed the main current issues facing the sector.
The event featured two panel discussions, firstly on advising asset managers on sustainability issues, and then on SDR regulations as a new discipline in securities settlement. The conference also featured two presentations, one focusing on the Eurosystem's projects in the field of post-trading and the other on ESG criteria, ratings and data.
Debating Sustainability and Digitalisation
Antonio Romero, Cecabank's Corporate Director of Associative Services and Resources, participated in the opening ceremony, stating that "in a context of increasing regulatory requirements and tight margins, entities such as Cecabank, which are multi-entity service platforms, enable financial institutions to reduce costs by outsourcing non-core processes to specialised third parties. The ultimate goal is for banks and fund managers to reserve the client relationship for themselves, leaving the management of processes that benefit from economies of scale and greater specialisation in the hands of independent third parties".
For her part, CNMV vice-president Montserrat Martínez Parera pointed out that there are "two trends that are changing the structure of the central counterparty clearing house market, or that could change it in the near future. The first relates to the effects of Brexit and the new equilibrium between EU and UK clearing houses following the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the Union. The second is about how new technologies, and in particular distributed log technology or DLT, can change the sector".
This was followed by the first panel discussion moderated by José Carlos Sánchez-Vizcaíno, Cecabank's Director of Depositary Supervision, and with the participation of Quentin Dehem, Head of Strategic Clients, Clarity AI, Mael Lagadec, Manager Advisory ESG, Sustainalytics, and Sabine Lochmann, President of Vigeo Eiris (V.E) and Global Head of Moody's ESG Measures, Moody's ESG Solutions (V.E.); three leading companies in the field of sustainability. During this panel, the degree of effective integration of sustainability in asset management was analysed, both at European level and in Spain. In addition, the implications and impact on the industry of the regulations in force and those under preparation were discussed.
The second panel discussion was attended by Iñaki Varela, Deputy Director General of Media, Norbolsa SV, Francisco Béjar, Deputy Director General, Iberclear-BME, and Vicente García, expert in the Secondary Markets Department, Post-Trading, CNMV. Experts focused on the new securities settlement discipline regime, known as SDR, which is part of EU Regulation 909/2014 on improving of securities settlement, and on the harmonisation in the supervision and authorisation of Central Securities Depositaries, which is commonly referred to as CSDR. During the interesting debate, participants provided clarity on the main new features it offers, how it affects each of the stakeholders involved and what are the main challenges the sector has faced trying to implement it in time, once it came into force on 1 February. Asunción Fernández, Director of Securities Custody and Settlement at Cecabank, was the moderator.
The closing session of the 8th Securities Services Conference, hosted by Aurora Cuadros, Cecabank's Corporate Director of Operational Services, was devoted to a reflection on financial innovation. "On the one hand, it is absolutely necessary for the advancement and growth of organisations, but on the other hand, it must keep pace with the market, in an orderly and committed manner, following transparency guidelines and having as its ultimate goal to serve and protect our clients' interests. This requires robust regulation, supervisory systems and corporate governance practices".
Cecabank, the leading provider of Securities Services in Spain
With these conferences, in which Cecabank has been bringing together industry professionals for eight years to debate and reflect on operational and regulatory changes that have a direct impact on the sector, the institution reinforces its leadership in Securities Services. This position is based on in-depth knowledge and expertise in custody and depositary services. It is an independent and neutral partner - a service platform - for any financial and non-financial institution. For this reason, forums such as this one are an excellent opportunity to share the bank's vision of the need for the specialisation and professionalisation of the figure of the depositary within the complex mechanism of collective investment, a trend that is increasingly shared by the regulator and the market.
Cecabank continues to consolidate its leadership once again this year. At the close of 2021, it had assets under custody totalling €297,682 million, 59% more than in 2020, and deposited equity in excess of €213,600 million from 42 fund managers, six more than in 2020.
