Recently, SIFMA hosted our 2019 C&L Annual Seminar. With two and a half days of presentations and events and over 2,000 attendees, we gained insights into top-of-mind topics for market participants. Inside this note, we recap just some of what was seen and heard, including Markets Musings; Regulatory Recap; and Fintech’s Future.

Markets Musings

U.S. capital markets are the largest and among the deepest, most liquid and most efficient markets in the world; they are the bedrock of our nation’s economy. Efficient and resilient market structure is key to sustaining investor confidence and participation in markets. In this debrief, we highlight key capital markets topics heard at the conference, including:

• Equity Markets: Equity Market Structure, Access Fee Pilot, Best Ex, Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT), Market Data, Reg ATS-N
• Fixed Income Markets: Fixed Income Market Structure, Best Ex, LIBOR Transition, Treasury Market Practice Group (TMPG) Guidelines

Regulatory Recap

After global financial markets adopted an unprecedented volume of new regulations since the crisis, various policymakers acknowledge some changes may have gone too far, adversely impacting market efficiency and liquidity at the expense of economic growth. In this debrief, we highlight key regulatory topics heard at the conference, including:

• Concerns around SA-CCR
• What’s next for banks, including stress testing and further capital charges
• Fragmentation, across agencies and jurisdictions
• Volcker 2.0

Fintech’s Future

The industry continues to analyze how fintech solutions can increase efficiencies in the back office, serve clients, manage risk or meet regulatory reporting requirements. While much of a firm’s technology spend is on ways to increase operational efficiencies and decrease costs (for the firms and also their customers), many firms also sponsor investments for fintech innovations. In this debrief, we highlight key fintech topics heard at the conference, including:

• Commentary from regulators at the seminar
• Innovation in digital advice
• The expanded scope for cybersecurity

Author

Katie Kolchin, CFA
SIFMA Insights