# Preparing For Isla

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[00:00:00.560] Hi, friends. Welcome back to another episode of Peer Connections, the podcast series brought
[00:00:08.440] to you by the Global Peer Financing Association, also known as GPFA. These podcasts offer our
[00:00:13.380] GPFA members and global beneficial owner friends a forum for information sharing and discussion
[00:00:18.180] on topics most important to them. And we hope you, our listeners, appreciate the insights,
[00:00:22.780] best practices, and transparency offered from our members and industry friends about securities,
[00:00:26.960] finance, or related investment areas. Now let's get into the episode.
[00:00:35.840] Hello, everyone, and welcome to another Peer Connections podcast. I'm Matt Burnett, Global
[00:00:40.700] Head of Financing at Norges Bank Investment Management, coming to you from Oslo, Norway.
[00:00:45.800] I am also a member of the ISLA board, and I would say an active member of GPFA. I'm
[00:00:51.800] joined today by the top brass of ISLA, Mia. Andy, Ina, would you like to introduce yourselves,
[00:00:58.340] please?
[00:00:59.200] Thanks, Matt. I'm Ina Budraja. I'm responsible for IMEA Regulatory Strategy and Industry
[00:01:05.280] Affairs at BNY Mellon, Securities Finance, and I'm also chair of the ISLA Board of Directors.
[00:01:11.120] And if I can make a mention, I'll also throw in here that I'm co-lead of the Women in Securities
[00:01:16.220] Finance in the app chapter.
[00:01:18.640] And Matt, thanks very much for that very kind introduction.
[00:01:21.260] My name is Andy Dyson, and I'm chief executive of ISLA covering Europe, Middle East, and
[00:01:25.900] Africa.
[00:01:26.700] Thank you.
[00:01:27.400] Well, we're, of course, here to have a brief chat about ISLA's upcoming Securities Finance
[00:01:32.000] Conference, where, once again, ISLA has partnered with
[00:01:35.280] GPFA to engage more beneficial owners. So some brass tacks about the conference. It's a 31st
[00:01:42.560] annual ISLA SEC Finance Conference. It's being held this year in Geneva from the 18th to 20th
[00:01:48.700] of June, spanning three days at the President Wilson Hotel. And I would like to mark also that
[00:01:54.880] Andy is joining us today from his holiday. I think he's sitting on a beach somewhere,
[00:01:59.200] says it's very warm, very beautiful outside, but perhaps you can kick us off by setting the scene
[00:02:04.720] a little bit? For example, how big is this conference going to be and what types of
[00:02:09.080] individuals can we expect to meet there? Matt, thank you. And the holiday bit is right,
[00:02:13.640] but the rest about the weather isn't quite right because I'm sitting in a very wet and dreary part
[00:02:18.500] of Southeast England. But just thinking ahead to the next two or three weeks when we'll all be in
[00:02:23.440] Geneva and what to expect there, the first thing I'd say is that this is F31st annual event,
[00:02:27.840] as you mentioned, Matt. Coming off of the high of last year when it was our 30th annual conference,
[00:02:32.620] Sometimes it's hard to think about, well, how do you better that? And actually, I think this year we continue to evolve and we continue to push the boundaries. I think with these types of events, it's really, really important to show delegates change and progression, but also keeping enough reference points in the agenda that it becomes quite familiar to them in many ways.
[00:02:51.600] You're right. We're in Geneva, 18th to the 20th of June. Typically, and I checked just before we started recording, we are already over 500 delegates registered. I would expect a healthy, maybe 50, 60 more as we go into the next couple of weeks. By the time you get to hear this, registration would have closed on the 7th of June. But there's always that opportunity to turn up on the day and still pay if you find that there's something going on you'd like to be part of.
[00:03:15.820] So 500 delegates, roughly, what types of institutions do they represent?
[00:03:20.200] One of our real strengths as an organization is that we represent the entire value chain that sits within securities financing or securities lending. So there will be institutional investors. So if you're listening to this podcast as a beneficial owner or an institutional investor, there's very much part of that agenda just for you. And we'd like to see certainly building on the 50 plus institutional investors that we had in the room last year.
[00:03:42.100] But we shouldn't forget that this industry works around certain key groups and stakeholders.
[00:03:48.160] So notably, also represented during the two, three days will be our big agent lender community,
[00:03:53.520] as well as our big, if you like, sell side broker dealer community.
[00:03:57.820] And around that, you'll see lots from a very, very vibrant group in our community,
[00:04:02.280] which is our fintech and technology community.
[00:04:05.020] And they'll be there certainly within the rooms.
[00:04:06.920] And you'll see in the various breakout areas,
[00:04:09.020] their stands and booths that you'll be able to attend and get some idea as to where technology
[00:04:14.580] is going during the two or three days of the conference. I think what really worked last year
[00:04:19.620] was having the intentional work that the team had done leading up to the conference to expand the
[00:04:24.640] breadth of participation. So we really saw all the participants from the securities finance value
[00:04:29.240] chain, as Andy mentioned, and I think specifically huge increase in beneficial owners. I think from
[00:04:34.320] memory was over 55 representatives last year. And ultimately, the value of the conference really
[00:04:39.980] lies in having all aspects of the market represented. So we expect to see more of that.
[00:04:46.860] Great. So pretty much everyone I could hope to meet in the securities finance industry.
[00:04:52.060] So I was at Lisbon last year as well. And I have to say, when I walked in on that first day,
[00:04:57.520] I was a bit blown away by not just the number of people, but the energy in the room,
[00:05:03.300] the conversations taking place everywhere. It seems a pretty big hurdle to me. Are you going
[00:05:07.420] to be able to match that this year? Of course, I think we're going to match that. And as I said
[00:05:11.900] earlier, each year we want to make the conference slightly different, slightly better. We've learned
[00:05:16.760] quite a bit, even from last year. And you'll see, for example, coming through in this year's agenda,
[00:05:22.080] a much longer session just for beneficial owners. So rather than it being sort of built around
[00:05:26.580] either a breakfast or some one to one and a half hour session, we've now devoted the entire first
[00:05:31.520] morning on the Tuesday to the closed door beneficial owner session. And that will allow
[00:05:35.840] beneficial owners to build on the work that we know took place last year to actually talk amongst
[00:05:40.700] their peers on those issues that are most in their minds when they think about the markets
[00:05:44.780] we represent. So to answer your question, Matt, that's the first thing we recognise. And also,
[00:05:48.380] as we think about where we go with the agenda, some of the subtle things, you know, I'm delighted,
[00:05:53.020] for example, I always call this a little bit of a slight difference that we do and others don't.
[00:05:57.660] on that Tuesday that I just mentioned, it's almost as if you have the opportunity to go
[00:06:02.600] to a whole conference in one day. So put on one side what happens on the Wednesday and the Thursday,
[00:06:07.600] but on that Tuesday, if you're a beneficial owner, you can not only go to your own exclusive session
[00:06:12.700] in the morning, but in the afternoon, there's a series of regulatory and policy updates being
[00:06:17.360] led by an economist following through into a speech from a gentleman called Stephen Fisher,
[00:06:21.960] who is Global Head of Government and Public Affairs for the Deutsche Bank Group. Again,
[00:06:25.560] And that will set the scene not only for the rest of that day, but for the rest of the two or three days that we're in Geneva.
[00:06:31.200] And following on from that will be quite a detailed opportunity to understand some of the things that we're grappling with.
[00:06:36.900] And then right at the end of that first day, we've got thematic streams or thematic breakout groups where you can go and immerse yourself to a high level of detail around two or three really, really key themes that are driving the industry.
[00:06:50.280] So I think that's a conference in one day and that's just the Tuesday.
[00:06:53.480] So I think learning from last year, Matt, we just want to keep making the conference better.
[00:06:59.500] As well as content, I think what you'll have seen last year, and we're absolutely seeing on an increased basis this year, is global participation.
[00:07:07.120] So we've obviously got participation from the UK and EU, which we've assumed in the past, but I think we've seen a huge ramp up from the Middle East and also from the US.
[00:07:15.880] So that ties in really well with the recent expansion by ISLA into the US with the launch of ISLA Americas.
[00:07:22.060] and we see a much more global and holistic approach to the issues that are facing our
[00:07:28.020] industry, which is great. Yeah, excellent. I've got the agenda here in front of me and Andy started
[00:07:33.170] off with the extended beneficial owner session, which again, you guys have partnered with GPFA
[00:07:38.730] to put together. I see they've got two big hitters from the industry on the beneficial owner side,
[00:07:44.770] Scott Baker from Audia and my own colleague, Morten Gevold from Norges Bank, who are leading
[00:07:49.090] the session there. And I totally agree. I was there last year. We had a good session, but we
[00:07:54.430] ran out of time. So super cool that you guys can extend that two-hour session and let those people
[00:07:59.310] interact. So, Ina, moving further into the agenda, what do you think are the highlights here that
[00:08:05.290] you'd like to pick out? What are you looking forward to hearing on the panel sessions?
[00:08:09.730] Yeah, a few highlights for me. So I think, first of all, keynote speaker, right? So we've got
[00:08:13.890] Robin Niblett. He's a very established international relations advisor. He was
[00:08:19.510] previously chief executive at Chatham House. And hugely interesting on looking at geopolitics
[00:08:26.230] shaping capital markets today. But what are the various potential impacts based on possible
[00:08:32.130] diplomatic and foreign policy outcomes? And I think hugely relevant at this point in time.
[00:08:36.830] Also looking forward to myself moderating an absolutely dabbling panel. I have a list of
[00:08:42.630] CEOs, the CEO of Isla, ICMA, ISDA, AMA and GPFA. So that should be a really interesting conversation
[00:08:49.850] on the go forward for our market. Equally, very much looking forward to hosting the Isla Connects
[00:08:55.710] networking session for new faces to our industry, right, to really try to diversify the people that
[00:09:01.990] we reach out to through Isla, the people we connect with, the future talent pool that's being built
[00:09:06.630] across this industry. So this year we'll do a meet the board breakfast for the Isla Connects
[00:09:11.950] delegates and it's really an opportunity to ask us anything right so it should be interesting
[00:09:15.970] and i think more than anything for me what i look forward to is the conference is an opportunity for
[00:09:21.390] the industry to really look to the future together so i see it as a melting pot for all the players
[00:09:27.370] in our value chain it's looking at new regulation and challenges capital optimization new solutions
[00:09:33.070] to optimize digital technology new talent pools everything and it's bringing the people together
[00:09:39.810] across the various aspects of the value chain
[00:09:41.910] that really offers the most value in this conference.
[00:09:44.990] So one of the things I noticed from the agenda,
[00:09:46.910] so on the Wednesday,
[00:09:48.090] you have the leaders' perspectives and predictions
[00:09:50.210] is the title where industry leaders
[00:09:52.590] are looking to prognosticate
[00:09:54.330] on the future of the industry, I suppose.
[00:09:56.650] But then in the beneficial owner section,
[00:09:58.410] you also have a topic on there
[00:10:00.070] called Outlook and Challenges for 2024.
[00:10:03.630] So I think this is pretty interesting
[00:10:05.390] where the beneficial owner breakfasts
[00:10:08.330] that I've been not just at ISLA, but other conferences in the past, the conversations
[00:10:12.410] were around, how do I create an RFP to find an agent? And now we're in a totally different place
[00:10:17.990] where you have beneficial owners that are looking forward in the industry and how the industry is
[00:10:21.970] evolving. So I think last year, what I'm getting at, I think was pretty successful in getting
[00:10:26.350] beneficial owners engaged. Do you see them playing a bigger role in your conference going forward?
[00:10:31.910] Yes, absolutely. And I think that what's happened in the last three to five years is that I think
[00:10:36.930] to a large extent, beneficial owners could remain relatively passive when they thought about their
[00:10:42.310] programmes. It tended to be somebody else's problem that they review periodically. I think
[00:10:47.850] what's happened is because of the way regulation, particularly the BAL regime, is changing the way
[00:10:53.230] we have to think about all elements of the way our market trades, it naturally means that
[00:10:59.590] institutional investors or beneficial owners have to engage more. And I think we're seeing that now
[00:11:04.290] through certainly last year's attendance, but also engagement around things like some of our
[00:11:08.350] working groups and some of the focus. I mentioned that one of the breakout groups on the Tuesday
[00:11:13.130] is about the bar regime. Again, it's a topic which appears to have no bounds in terms of
[00:11:18.470] people's appetite to want to absorb what it all means. But I do think that I see greater
[00:11:23.590] involvement from institutional investors more than I've ever seen, if I'm honest,
[00:11:27.590] which I think is a great thing. And that is beginning to resonate through in our conference.
[00:11:31.630] So I'm very much looking forward to hopefully the beneficial owner session firing out some points or questions that can then be relayed to some of the later sessions like the leaders discussion.
[00:11:44.970] Yeah, absolutely. I think that would be very interesting.
[00:11:48.170] Matt, this also just reflects the way we look at this with the hat on of an agent lender. It's all about client centricity and ensuring the client understands how we're looking at changes in the industry and on that journey with us.
[00:12:01.170] So I think the beneficial owner session and that leading into the panel discussions is hugely important for the industry to really let solutions be driven by beneficial owners along with the service providers and agents, etc.
[00:12:15.070] So the end-to-end, any change that is happening as a result of BASL or TPF1 or whatever it might be, works across the entire industry.
[00:12:24.070] You both mentioned Basel III. I'll make a prediction. I think this will be a pretty hot topic during the conference.
[00:12:29.910] I'm literally on the Bank of England website, refreshing it several times a day, waiting for
[00:12:34.570] the update, which is hopefully on the near final rules that'll hopefully be available before the
[00:12:39.890] conference. So certainly a lot of good conversations around that. Lastly, on the agenda, I know on a
[00:12:45.610] Thursday, I think a cool one is, I believe you've called the new hiring paradigm in securities
[00:12:50.430] finance, that I think you're insinuating that maybe the skillset that lenders and borrowers
[00:12:55.450] are looking for might be changing. I guess my question is, is this all about technology or
[00:13:00.470] are there other things going on there as well that are interesting? On that one, Matt, I think we do
[00:13:05.290] recognize that there's a demand for maybe a different type of persona or a different skill
[00:13:10.010] set for people coming into the industry. Our industry has always been quite technical and
[00:13:15.170] has always been seen as something where you can understand how assets and liabilities actually
[00:13:20.310] work within an organization. So it's been this fantastic educational proving ground for
[00:13:25.090] individuals. And I think you only have to look at the number of senior individuals who are dotted
[00:13:29.130] around financial services in Europe and look at their beginnings within the securities financing
[00:13:33.090] world. And you can see that, you know, securities financing provides this wonderful springboard to
[00:13:37.730] a wider career, either within our market or beyond. So I think when we look at the world today,
[00:13:42.490] it's, first of all, I think there is a changing skill set, but also we need to recognize that
[00:13:46.770] People come into the workplace with different aspirations and different objectives.
[00:13:50.390] And I think the pandemic was a bit of a jolt to the system.
[00:13:53.290] And I think we're now just beginning to understand how working practices have changed, how some
[00:13:59.610] have reverted back to things that we saw before COVID, and some will never revert back.
[00:14:04.590] So I think what that means is, and I think this panel, amongst other things, will be
[00:14:08.070] a great place to debate some of those challenges.
[00:14:10.830] So what are the individuals we're looking for?
[00:14:12.390] What do they look like?
[00:14:13.270] What do they feel like?
[00:14:13.930] But also, what are their demands when they come into organisations such as represented around that table?
[00:14:19.890] From my personal perspective, the idea of talent, attracting talent is absolutely key to the future integrity of this industry.
[00:14:27.930] So I think that session will help us think more about that.
[00:14:30.730] For me, you know, that panel, yes, it's about new skill sets.
[00:14:34.450] What does the future require? How do our businesses need to adapt and evolve?
[00:14:38.170] And yes, you know, there's need to be innovative and hugely creative.
[00:14:41.550] but at the same time, it's about balancing expertise and experience, right? So it's how
[00:14:46.690] do you find that balance? So you've got true value in what has been done to date and what
[00:14:51.950] needs to be done in the future. And so I think that's the interesting dynamic when we look at
[00:14:56.010] that panel. Thank you for that. I think you both used the word debate in some of your descriptions
[00:15:01.310] of these panels. And personally, I think what makes a great panel discussion and a great conference
[00:15:06.450] is some disagreement where you can get up, industry specialists can take different views
[00:15:11.990] and in a professional way, try to defend their views on that. Do you find any of these topics
[00:15:17.210] where you're going to get some really good, strong opinions and some debate up on stage?
[00:15:22.470] If I look at the agenda, I know it's already been mentioned, but the leader's perspectives,
[00:15:26.370] we're lucky enough to have, if you like, a fair reflection of our market on stage in a couple of
[00:15:31.610] weeks' time. And inevitably, the lending side of the community tends to see issues quite differently
[00:15:36.790] to the guys that borrow the securities at the broadest levels. I think there will be a natural,
[00:15:41.650] healthy debate because that's the moment the industry grinds together to figure out common
[00:15:46.230] solutions. And that's sort of where we maybe have a part to play in that. So I think very much there.
[00:15:51.110] I think the other one, which honestly, I think it will be a fascinating discussion,
[00:15:55.530] not because I'm on it, but I think the reflections from the other industry associations and how
[00:16:00.450] people like ISDA and ICMA, obviously GPFA are going to be there as well as AMA. I think those
[00:16:06.750] groups together, we represent such a diverse community. When I think about some of the
[00:16:11.990] discussions I've had with my peers and those other associations, of course we see the world
[00:16:16.810] differently because that's the nature of the people we represent. I think that's quite healthy
[00:16:20.970] and should lead to something of a debate. All right. I'll hang one out there that you
[00:16:25.530] don't need to respond to, but I'll make one last prognostication that T plus one may fit in there.
[00:16:31.250] Is it 3 p.m. or is it 7 p.m.? And I also see that that's on the beneficial owner
[00:16:36.230] agenda as well, so I can guess which way they're leaning. But we'll leave that for the conference.
[00:16:41.870] I think this is enough for a pregame show. We want to leave something for people to discover
[00:16:46.530] at the conference and not just the opinion of the three of us here. So thank you very much
[00:16:51.250] for both joining me today.
[00:16:52.790] I'd like to close this by asking you,
[00:16:55.070] are there any must-see sites in Geneva
[00:16:57.530] for those of us that have never been there before?
[00:16:59.970] I've been told on good recommendation
[00:17:02.290] that apparently the best fondue restaurant in Europe
[00:17:05.970] is in the vicinity of the conference.
[00:17:07.830] So we'll have to find that.
[00:17:09.490] Yeah, I'm not a big fan of hot cheese, to be honest with you.
[00:17:12.010] But anyway.
[00:17:12.490] You don't like to go out to dinner
[00:17:13.790] and make your own food, huh, Andy?
[00:17:15.610] No, not really.
[00:17:16.750] But listen, I had a look at the website
[00:17:18.330] because I don't know Geneva that well.
[00:17:19.610] And I'm told that the International Red Cross Museum is a must.
[00:17:23.030] And I believe there's a very famous fountain sitting in the middle of the lake that you can probably see from most vistas around the location.
[00:17:30.210] But Geneva is a super, super venue.
[00:17:32.610] It's at the heart of Europe.
[00:17:34.130] It's one of the reasons we picked it.
[00:17:35.750] And I'm absolutely confident people have a great time.
[00:17:38.750] Great.
[00:17:38.950] It sounds like a cliche, but I'm going to throw chocolate in there.
[00:17:42.290] I had a Swiss colleague years ago that went home and we all claim that Norway has the best chocolate in the world.
[00:17:47.790] but he brought Swiss chocolate in the office and nearly created a civil war over it. I mean,
[00:17:52.550] everybody was going for it. So definitely eat some chocolate while you're there.
[00:17:56.710] Ina, Andy, thank you once again for joining us and very much look forward to the conference ahead.
[00:18:02.610] It's been a pleasure, guys. Thank you.
[00:18:08.180] Thanks for listening to another episode of Peer Connections by GPFA. We hope you found the
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