27 February 2015
- Cecabank hosts the second annual Securities Services Conference, which reviews the most topical issues for the financial sector of collective investment
- The event was attended by speakers from ESMA, CNMV, Bank of Spain, Iberclear BME Clearing, CASER, ABANTE and Deloitte. It was also attended by two of the top three Spanish depositaries, BBVA and Cecabank
More than 200 representatives from the financial sector and the pension and investment funds industry. Representatives of Spanish securities depositaries and custodians also attended Cecabank's 2nd Securities Services Conference. The seminar focused on the new post-trading model in Spain and Europe. Cecabank's CEO, José María Méndez, began by defining Cecabank as the leader of the Spanish depositary market. He asserted that it is "an agent committed to a cycle of change that will lay the foundations for the functioning of our securities markets in the coming decades."
The Head of the Markets Division of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), Rodrigo Buenaventura, pointed out that the industry is experiencing a particularly significant moment in Europe. From a regulatory point of view, the European institutions want to promote the "creation of a true single securities market. One that allows competition based on the creation of unique common rules." This process is bringing up a great deal of rules, to which each of the market's agents must adapt.
The discussions of representatives of the financial sector in the interventions
The speakers agreed that the collective investment and pension fund industry is undergoing a change. It is marked both by historical increases in assets under management and by regulatory and operational review.
The Reform of the Securities Clearing, Settlement and Registration System. Discussed by the Director of Secondary Markets of the CNMV, Íñigo de la Lastra. By the Assistant Managing Director of Iberclear, Juan de Dios Pérez.By the Operations Director of BME, Mercedes Irigaray, and by Cecabank's Head of Securities, José Luis Rebollo. Moderated by Deloitte's Technology and Operations partner, Marta García. De la Lastra described the extraordinary scope of the reform, with special focus on the figure of the financial intermediary. Pérez, in turn, spoke about the situation of voluntary tests and reported on validation tests. Irigaray focused on the mechanisms of the Central Counterparty Entity to avoid the impact of defaults on settlement. Finally, Rebollo described Cecabank's role as liquidator, custodian and future general clearing agent.
–Target 2 Securities. It will come into operation in several waves (the first one next October and the last wave in February 2017). Their impact on liquidity control was analysed by Fernando Castaño, Head of the Payment Services to Credit Institutions Division of the Bank of Spain.
The reform of the European collective investment framework (UCITS V), now approved, and the future UCITS VI were the main focus of the roundtable on fund managers and depositaries. It was moderated by Javier Planelles, Cecabank's Head of Operations. In this area, the reform of the regulations for collective investment institutions, the development of the Voluntary Social Security Entities Act (EPSVs) and the new Venture Capital Act were also highlighted.
Find roundtable and closing
The final roundtable discussed the depositary's obligations and its liability regime. Taking into account the Alternative Fund Managers Directive (AIFDM), which has just been transposed into Spanish law, UCITS V and the new Regulations for the development of the collective investment institutions act. "In order to avoid problems, depositaries will have to do their background work, and show it“, stated Jorge Vergara, Deputy Director of CII and ECR Monitoring at CNMV.
José Carlos Sánchez-Vizcaíno, Cecabank's Depository Manager, and his BBVA counterpart Diego Pazos, discussed the segregation between managers and depositaries. All agreed it was essential to guarantee there would be no conflicts of interest between the two organisations.
The Director of Life and Pension Development at Caser, Manuel Álvarez, analysed in detail the new Regulations for Pension Funds and Plans. He also analysed their impact on the industry. The roundtable dealt with the new obligations for managers and depositaries, including in the Spanish Venture Capital Act.
The conference was closed by the Managing Partner for Securities Management, Intermediation and Custody at Deloitte, Rodrigo Díaz, As well as the Assistant Managing Director of Cecabank, Jorge Gil.Both highlighted the complexity of the current process. Gil emphasised the key role Cecabank will play, with securities custody and depositary services for collective investment institutions and pension funds being among the principal strategic lines of growth.
Photographs
