| In order to better argue their members' interests in such new pan-European developments as MiFID, the clearing and settlement of trades, and financial reporting, four of Europe’s securities trade bodies are forming a common grouping – the European Forum of Securities Associations (EFSA).
The four, the London Investment Banking Association (LIBA), the French Association of Investment Firms (AFEI), the Italian Association of Financial Intermediaries (ASSOSIM) and the Swedish Securities Dealers Association (SSDA), have created EFSA to focus on issues concerning European securities markets in order to deliver messages on regulations and market infrastructure to policy makers, regulators and supervisors.
Jonathan Taylor, Director General of LIBA, said: "Our four associations have been working together for some time now, reflecting the cross-border nature of Europe’s securities markets. We already share and promote common views on such issues as the importance of competition in the provision of exchange services in Europe."
In the past few years there have been a plethora of new European Union regulations which impact the trading and settlement of securities – MiFID, to take effect in November this year, is the best known but Directives on Market Abuse, Money Laundering, Transparency and Capital Requirements will all impact the markets, as will the drive towards a Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). In addition there is the impact of the mergers of securities exchanges already agreed or expected to happen – NYSE, NASDAQ, Euronext, London Stock Exchange and the Deutsche Börse.
EFSA will also be a member of the International Council of Securities Associations (ICSA) and EFSA members have previously collaborated on statements regarding the merging of European exchanges, governance of market infrastructure and consolidation of post-trading. Apart from the above four members, EFSA comprises associations from Turkey, Australia, South Africa, Canada, Japan, Korea, the USA (NASD and SIFMA – the BIA and SIA which merged last November) and Taiwan, as well as the International Capital Market Association (ICMA).
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