ICMA Podcast

In 2024 the European Repo & Collateral Council (ERCC) – the main representative body for the cross-border repo and collateral market in Europe – celebrated 25 years of codifying best market practice and developing consensus solutions in a rapidly evolving marketplace. Join Alex Westphal (ICMA Senior Director and secretary of the ERCC) as he speaks to Godfried DeVits and Richard Comotto, key figures of this influential committee from its inception, about the repo market past and present.

Listen now to the podcast from the Asset Management and Investors Council (AMIC), ICMA's dedicated forum advocating the interests of buy-side members, including asset managers, institutional investors, private banks, pension funds, and insurance companies, among others. 

Returning for this episode are industry experts, Bob Parker, former Chairman of AMIC and Senior Adviser to ICMA, alongside Massimiliano Castelli, PhD MSc, Managing Director and Head of Strategy & Advice at UBS Asset Management, who also serves as the Co-Chair of the AMIC Executive Committee. 

This podcast was recorded on 4th June 2024. Since the recording several of the measures discussed by the presenters in the podcast have been enacted. 

In this podcast the teams discuss the outlook for inflation and growth: will inflation continue to decline? What is the risk of recession?  

Interest rates. After the rate cuts by the SNB and the Riksbank, which other Central Banks will cut rates and will the ECB/BoE diverge from the US Federal Reserve? 

What the implications for the key asset classes; fixed income, equities, currencies and commodities? 

 Should we worry about geopolitics?  What impact might the situations in China, Russia/Ukraine, Middle East, EU/UK elections and the possibility of a Trump presidency have on major markets? 

If you have questions or topics that you would like our guests to address in future episodes, please feel free to get in contact via email: [email protected].  

Learn more about AMIC: https://www.icmagroup.org/market-practice-and-regulatory-policy/asset-management/ 

Eila Kreivi - former Head of Capital Markets at European Investment Bank and current ICMA board member - chats to Simone Utermarck (Senior Director, ICMA Sustainable Finance), looking back at 10 years of ICMA's involvement as secretariat of the Principles, the frameworks to which 97% of the world's sustainable bonds are aligned.

ICMA Chief Executive Bryan Pascoe is interviewed by Marc Granville (ICMA Head of Education & Training) about his career journey to date.

TreasurySpring’s Henry Adams, Chief Product Officer, discusses the unique features of their fintech solution, emphasising the innovative approach to unlocking trapped liquidity from outside capital markets through their proprietary instrument, the Fixed Term Fund (FTF). He discusses the inspiration behind the development of TreasurySpring, highlighting its mission to simplify complex repo transactions and provide scalable, legally sound solutions. Henry also shares insights into emerging industry trends, regulatory impacts, and the role of advanced technologies like AI and blockchain in transforming financial services.

In this podcast, Robert Koller, CAIA and CEO and Fredrik Creutz, Co-Founder and chairman of NowCM, discuss their company’s innovative approach to capital markets. They outline NowCM's three main focuses: digitalising the bond issuance process, operating a regulated issuance vehicle in Luxembourg, and managing a regulated marketplace for primary issuance in Paris. Key topics include significant efficiency improvements in the market, reduction of costs and setup times, and enhanced liquidity and price discovery through real-time capabilities. The conversation also explores the critical role of robust data models in supporting document management and transaction processes, as well as the potential, and challenges of, integrating AI in financial technology.

valantic FSA’s Andy Browning and Andrea Pirino discuss their fintech product's unique features, emphasising the necessary tension between stability and innovation in mission-critical workflow. They explore the inspiration behind its development, focusing on adapting to evolving technology while maintaining a strong client focus and addressing long-tail client needs. Highlighting industry trends and the shift from the “what” to the “how” and “who” of products, they position their product to evolve by continued investment in products and client relationships. They advocate for a balanced approach to innovation and compliance, viewing the potential in the modernization of legacy systems and regulations like MiFID and SFTR as opportunities for improvement of the ecosystem.

ICMA's Nicolette Moser, Senior Director, provides an overview of recent policy recommendations by FSB and IOSCO relating to open-ended funds.

ICMA’s Alex Westphal, Senior Director, Repo and Collateral markets, talks about the latest meetings and discussions of ICMA’s European Repo and Collateral Council (ERCC).

ICMA's Simone Bruno, Associate Data Analyst, presents the key findings from ICMA's European Secondary Market Data Report for 2023.