From Preparation to Execution: The Next Era of Operations

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery at the 2026 Operations Conference & Exhibition

Good morning. I’m Debra Guarino, Managing Director in Operations Controls for BNY Pershing, and the chair of SIFMA’s Operations and Technology Committee. I am happy to see so many familiar faces as we gather once again for the SIFMA Ops Conference.

When we left last year’s Ops conference it was clear that the pace of change being forced on the industry was only accelerating, and we had a long list of priorities and a lot of open questions.

Treasury clearing deadlines were firm but not imminent. AI use cases were still largely experimental. Data modernization efforts were well underway at some firms and barely started at others. The regulatory environment was in flux but new products like digital assets and private assets were moving to the mainstream. The Operations and Technology Committee brought it all back and got to work.

Since that time, what did the Committee do? A lot, as it turns out.

Through working groups, roundtables, advocacy and the peer-to-peer collaboration we are so lucky to benefit from in this community, we moved the ball forward on many priority initiatives.

On Treasury clearing, we followed up from last year’s implementation guide and delivered the “Done Away Considerations” report, laying a path forward for the industry as it builds out the done away model. We have worked closely with the other parts of SIFMA as they have delivered industry documentation and addressed capital questions. There are still open questions to be sure, but the posture of the industry has shifted from preparing to executing, and we will be ready for central clearing of cash Treasuries this December.

Last year, extended trading hours for equities was a “some point in the future” deliverable. It’s now coming this year, and the Committee is ramping up its preparedness for this change—you can expect more from SIFMA in the coming weeks on this.

Digital assets have rapidly emerged as a new operating model and become an area where the committee has focused a great deal of its attention. We have been working with the industry on innovation, views on regulation, and the importance of investor protection as technology and access evolve, and we are now focused on operational implementation guides as well.

Modernizing alternatives post trade to enable scale has been a focus area for the last seven months and we will be publishing a future of alternatives white paper in the coming weeks.

I would be remiss if I did not talk about AI. Here, the question was never ‘does it belong in operations?’ We know it does. And the Committee has and continues to delve into issues of responsible innovation and risk management as AI rapidly moves forward. There is so much happening in our space, and I would encourage you to get involved with SIFMA if you aren’t already.

Finally, on operational resilience, I want to specifically call out the work this community has done in close partnership with the broader industry. This past year was a real stress test. Markets experienced significant volatility and the post-trade infrastructure held. We continue to spend considerable time working across membership and critical infrastructure and service providers to facilitate tabletop-exercises, industry wide playbooks and best practice white papers to ensure we are preparing as best we can for the day when there is an issue, whether it be cyber or a broader resilience issue

Before I introduce our next speaker, I wanted to thank both Mike Fiscella of Jefferies for his leadership and help in steering the committee over the past 12 months, and the members of the Ops and Tech committees more broadly for their contributions. Our committees set the direction for the team at SIFMA and each of you plays a role in driving the industry forward, whether that be in Cyber and Resilience, or Corporate Actions, or Credit and Margin. Thank you all for providing your guidance and thought leadership to our combined industry efforts.

And now, to dig deeper into how technology is accelerating exactly these priorities, particularly around data modernization and connected wealth infrastructure, I’m pleased to welcome the Andres Choussy, President of FIS Capital Markets.