GFF Podcast

In this show we preview the upcoming GFF Summit 2023 in Luxembourg with CEO of Clearstream Securities Services Samuel Riley, and Head of Collateral, Lending and Liquidity Solutions Marton Szigeti. Together with co-hosts Andrew Keith Walker and Christian Rossler, they discuss the major themes that will dominate 2023 in the securities lending and repo markets, plus the theme of this year's GFF -  "Thriving in a Changing World". With a preview of the events and influential speakers at this year's event, this is the must-listen guide to the GFF Summit 2023.

In this festive review of the year, Clearstream's Head of Securities Lending & Borrowing Banu Apers,  Head of Business Development James Cherry and the new Global Head of Collateral Management Gaël Delaunay join Christian Rossler and Andrew Keith Walker to discuss the major collateral and securities lending developments of 2022 and the new products and services on offer from Clearstream in 2023. Plus our usual Merry Christmas message in the many languages of the Banking, Funding and Financing team.

In this episode we discuss the emergence of sustainability-related repo products, explore the development and categorisation of sustainable practices within the repo market, and how sustainability-related repo plays a role in the transition to green finance - with Zhan Chen (Associate in Market Practice at ICMA) Carsten Hiller (Head of Fixed Income Derivatives, Funding & Financing Sales for Central Europe at Eurex & Vice Chair of ICMA’s Sustainable Repo Taskforce) and Marc Poinsignon (Business Development Tri-Party Collateral Management at Clearstream). 

In this show we report back from the GFFSummit  2022 and catch-up with some of the guests, speakers and industry leaders that made the event such a huge success - including interviews with Farrah Mahmood and Adrian Dale (ISLA), repo expect and commentator Richard Comotto (ICMA), ESG investment and sustainable development expert Leslie Maasdoorp (CFO, New Development Bank), green bond pioneerJean-Marie Masse (MD Blue Like an Orange Sustainable Capital) and Sean Kidney, CEO of the Climate Bond Initiative. Plus we are joined by Marty Szigeti (Head of Banking Funding and Financing, Clearstream) to give his view on this year's summit - and reveal exciting news about GFF 2023.

In this month's show we present a preview of the 2022 GFF Summit in Luxembourg, which will be one of the biggest and most prestigious events on the European finance industry calendar. We meet the organisers, and talk about the big themes and topics that will make-up the agenda for the event - featuring senior leaders from politics, finance, central banks and green initiatives, plus dozens of speakers from over 25 major organisations and market participants, multiple networking events, closed sessions, and of course the famous Gala dinner. 

We're discussing the state of the market, diversity & inclusion, ESG for SecLending and Repo, digitalisation and all things GFF with Jonathan Lombardo (EUREX), Banu Apers (Clearstream),  Elodie Putz (Clearstream), Frank Gast (EUREX) and regular hosts Christian Rossler and Andrew Keith Walker. 

(And don't forget to register at www.gff-summit.com)

New technologies such as blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) continue to be in the focus of financial market players as well as central banks. In this episode , we discuss the use of securities (collateral) and cash (digital currencies) in a DLT environment. We also consider the challenges facing Central Bank Digital Currencies, and the advances in digital issuance, tokenization, DLT collateral management and settlement systems.

In this special extended show we go in-depth into the current state of climate finance, with former Finance Industry CIO of the IFC and COP26 panellist Jean-Marie Mass. As someone who was working with the IFC when its sister organisation the World Bank launched the first green bond in 2007, and went on to structure the first (and largest) green bond fund in the world with the IFC and Amundi in 2018, Jean-Marie Masse is acknowledged as one of the leading minds in the field of climate finance today. 

In this show, he explains the new tools and instruments available to market participants - such as Sustainability-linked Bonds, Blended Finance and Carbon Arbitrage. He also frames the two central activities that are shaping climate finance - Mitigation projects and Adaptation projects - and driving the rapid rise of capital flows into the green and sustainable investments.

In this show we meet the Co-founder and CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative, Sean Kidney, for a lively and wide ranging conversation about the vital role green bonds and green finance will play in preventing the worst effects of climate change. This show gives us some insights into the scale of the challenge, and the huge progress being made - which will be a key topic and panel event at this year's GFF Summit, 13-15 September 2022.

Sean is a world-renowned expert, who in addition to his work with Climate Bonds overseeing the development of green bond definitions and certification schemes, plus markets development programs in Brazil, Mexico, ASEAN and Africa,  is also an advisor to the Chinese Central Bank and Professor in Practice at SOAS University of London. 

Joining Sean is Carsten Hiller, Head of Fixed Income Sales for Central Europe at EUREX, also Vice-chair of the ICMA Repo Sustainability Taskforce - also the man who launched the first green GC collateral basket for EUREX.

Plus our usual hosts, Fintech journalist Andrew Keith Walker and SVP Securities Lending Products at Clearstream Christian Rossler return with more news about this season of the GFF Podcast, which will showcase more of the people and issues on the agenda for the GFF Summit in 2022 and 2023.

In the last show of season 1, we are delighted to present a feature-length virtual panel event with Margaret Kuhlow (Global Finance Practice Leader, WWF) and Viola Lutz (Head of Climate Solutions, ISS ESG). 

Our special guests (who are also speaking at the 2022 GFF summit in September) join Christian Rossler and Andrew Keith Walker to discuss the progress of ESG initiatives to affect sustainable change in the global funding and financing community.

With expert insights, we discuss the activities of the WWF and ISS ESG in the fields of financing green and greening finance. We consider different approaches to E, S and G in different global regulatory jurisdictions, explore the greenwashing challenges and 'greenium' possibilities for market participants, and consider the economic impact of Covid, volatility and geopolitical risk on meeting ESG and Net Zero targets in the EU and beyond.

In this month's show, we welcome Phil Simons (Eurex Global Head of Sales for Fixed Income Derivatives, Funding and Financing) and Frank Odendall (Eurex Head of Repo Product & Business Development) to discuss the current conditions and challenges in the EU 27.

We discuss the huge growth in cleared repo, driven by the need for margining and variations in a volatile EU marketplace, meeting the challenges of the 'perfect storm' of inflation, QE tapering, post-COVID economic recovery, EMIR refit, UMR phase 6 and the geopolitical situation in Ukraine. Plus the issues on the horizon relating to Euro clearing moving away from LCH, plus the need for Pension and buy-side firms to report under new rules. 

We also explore solutions for market participants, such as Eurex's hugely successful ISA Direct programme, innovations in balance sheet optimisation and cost-reduction for back office operations, plus the rise of Total Return Futures and equity swaps over uncleared, bilateral trades.