ISLA Madrid 2025 Day 2 Write-up
Our Conference Co-Chair Adnan Hussain provided a warm welcome to all of our delegates, whilst also taking a moment to reflect on the key takeaways from the opening day in Madrid.
A true highlight was our Opening Keynote Address delivered by Rodrigo Buenaventura, Secretary General of International Organization of Securities Commissions – IOSCO.
“As sometimes, just sometimes we need to acknowledge the advantage of a common and robust regulatory framework.”
With operational resilience, T+1, leverage and risk remaining as key themes, Rodrigo warned our audience that securities lending standards are at a significant juncture and political fragmentation is increasing likely. The solution lies in a global baseline to allow firms to operate without hurdles facilitate more liquid markets.
Following this, ISLA’s CEO Andrew Dyson lead the “Leaders’ Perspectives & Predictions” panel bringing together a stellar panel to discuss everything from prudential regulation and the “democratisation of finance” to T+1 settlement, retail investors and digital transformation. In a lively discussion delivering stances from across the value chain, the opportunity in TRS to provide a potential stepping stone from traditional lending stood out. While the future looks everchanging, with factors such as advancements in automation & AI, turbulent geopolitics and the potential of synthetics on the near horizon being ever prevalent the need standards is more important than ever!
But the question remains, who’s standards – as you know we at ISLA have our own answer in the form of the CDM – but this must be left to the industry to decide!
“The most volatile and turbulent decade since 1945”
Despite in his own words painting quite a gloomy picture of where the world is going in the coming years, we were honoured to welcome Janan Ganesh, a distinguished columnist for the Financial Times, to deliver his guest keynote Address. Janan outlined three primary geopolitical concerns for the coming years: the increasing risk of nuclear proliferation, a perceived “window of opportunity” for aggressive states to act before January 2029 given the current US foreign policy under Donald Trump and Europe’s rearmament timeline, and the unprecedented concentration of aging world leaders, suggesting an impending period of unpredictable leadership transitions.
Building on this context, our “An Evolving Playbook: The Future of Securities Financing” session, moderated by Harpreet Bains of J.P. Morgan, challenged panellists and attendees alike to envision the ideal future state of securities financing by 2030. The discussion explored critical shifts towards product agnosticism, addressing operational and structural challenges, and navigating the evolving regulatory landscape. While there are many different avenues to growth, pinch points around data, inventory planning and post trade and will continue to exist without the advent of new solution-led technology and automation.
Closing out the day’s agenda, “Embracing New Frontiers,” saw panellists delve into the exciting opportunities and challenges within emerging and frontier markets. With a focus on MENA, Latin America, Asia, and Europe, the discussion highlighted the immense potential for growth, the crucial role of collaboration between market participants and regulators, and the opportunity to align markets through the implementation of best practices. While legal considerations and tax application remain potential barriers to entry, the panel highlighted the value of trade associations and industry working groups to providing clarity on, often nuanced issues.
Read the Securities Finance Times coverage of the day in their ISLA Daily here.
The ISLA Madrid Conference Gallery is also accessible here.
