In September ISLA welcomed over 60 local market participants to our Frankfurt regional briefing kindly hosted by Deutsche Bank.
Marion Mühlberger shined a light on some of the key macro and geopolitical themes shaping fiscal policy, global trade, and growth across Germany, the EU and the US. With Germany taking a ‘whatever it takes’ approach, EU/US trade becoming more restrictive and a slow down in demand, 2026 has the potential to be even more challenging than 2025.
Building on this, Marco Winteroll shared his public policy insights. Against a backdrop of market fragmentation, long standing regulatory barriers and political disharmony, Europe finds itself at a crossroads, and not for the first time. However, with the advent of the Savings & Investment Union and its focus on standardising and streamlining regulation; alongside the evolution of financial digitisation – Europe’s capital markets are poised to play a leading role in delivering solutions and driving growth across the region.
Adrian Dale then guided attendees through the latest regulatory developments across the SFT landscape. From regulatory delays and reforms, to the new era of settlement – firms are facing major operational and commercial challenges. With digitisation offering solutions to help navigate these complexities, ISLA is working to develop best practices and standards to ensure these solutions contribute to a more efficient and resilient market.
Shaan Jivan explored how global trends are creating both challenges and opportunities in German and broader European markets as we enter the latter half of the year. Taking a global view, Shaan explained that while the market has had a strong H1, outperforming 2024 its not hit the highs of 2023, and regional nuances do exist with the US and Asia outperforming Europe. These nuances are especially evident when comparing asset utilisation – where market volatility has fuelled equities driven revenues over bonds.
Building on this context, our final panel of the day, chaired by Roy Zimmerhansl explored the avenues for growth in the German market. From the rise of retail investors and NeoBrokers which have become material participants in securities lending, to the potential of ETF lending, driven in part by retail investors. It is clear that the growth opportunities are there, however the regulatory and legal environment need to be aligned to this growth agenda.
Looking ahead, the panel also discussed the appetite for ESG linked products as well as the increasing focus on cash collateral as emerging trends in the lending space. Which ever direction the market goes, the panel were clear that the German market, like all others, will need decisive action to capitalise on opportunities ahead. Thank you to our panellists Daniel Cripps, maurice leo and, Dr. Mike Rinker.
The evening was capped off with an ISLA Connects Networking Reception, kindly sponsored by Eurex and Clearstream
