Written on: 26 June 2020

26 June 2020 – The FICC Markets Standards Board (FMSB) announces three new appointments to the board of FMSB Limited.

Martin Pluves, CEO of FMSB, has been appointed to the board as executive director, reflecting the highly successful completion of his first six months as CEO of FMSB and his exemplary leadership during the past few months of pandemic lockdown. His extensive knowledge and experience of FICC markets and their infrastructure, and his previous leadership positions in the industry, are well known to all who have worked with Martin.

The board has also appointed Niki Beattie and Philippa Foster Back CBE as new non-executive directors.

Niki Beattie has extensive corporate governance experience in financial markets and is currently Chair of both XTX Markets Ltd, a quantitative-driven electronic market-maker, and Aquis Exchange PLC, a pan-European MTF, as well as a non-executive director of IRESS, a listed Australian financial technology company, and Kepler Cheuvreux International, the French brokerage company.

Niki is also the CEO and Founder of Market Structure Partners, an independent consulting firm providing strategic advice on financial market structure issues to global exchanges, clearing houses, technology firms, market participants and government bodies. Prior to setting up Market Structure Partners, she spent 14 years at Merrill Lynch across a number of roles, including EMEA Head of Market Structure.

Philippa Foster Back CBE has recently stepped down as Director of the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE), a role she has held since 2001. The IBE’s work is focused on promoting high standards of business behaviour based on ethical values.

Philippa was previously Group Treasurer at EMI Group, Group Finance Director at DC Gardner Group and Group Treasurer at Bowater. Philippa has also held a number of trustee, major review committee and non-executive roles throughout her career. She is currently a BEIS/FRC Wates Coalition Group member, a member of the  ACT Advisory Panel and a member of the CISI Board and its Integrity Forum.

Mark Yallop, Chairman of FMSB said: “I’m delighted to welcome Martin, Niki and Philippa as new directors of FMSB. Martin’s dedication to FMSB’s mission and personal passion for our work is evident to all who have worked with him the last months. Niki and Philippa bring significant knowledge and experience of wholesale markets and of promoting high standards in business practices. Martin, Niki and Philippa will all play an important role in the governance and direction of FMSB as we continue to work with our members to enhance standards of behaviour in the wholesale FICC markets.”

Martin, Niki and Philippa join the Board alongside Chair, Mark Yallop, and existing non-executive directors Michael Cole-Fontayn, Charles Nichols, Edward Ocampo and Stephen O’Connor.

Media contacts

Maitland/AMO
Andy Donald or Sam Turvey
+44 207 379 5151
adonald@maitland.co.uk
sturvey@maitland.co.uk

Notes to Editors
1) The Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities Markets Standards Board (FMSB) is practitioner led, funded by members and operated by the major participants in wholesale markets to improve standards of conduct in wholesale fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) markets. It aims to bring transparency to grey areas in the wholesale FICC markets by identifying emerging vulnerabilities, clarifying and documenting practice and agreeing standards to improve conduct and market behaviour. Ensuring that wholesale FICC markets are transparent, fair and effective for all participants is at the heart of FMSB’s mission.

FMSB Standards set out Core Principles and accompanying guidance on the most important aspects of practice where ambiguity risks undermining the transparency, fairness and effectiveness of markets.
FMSB Statements of Good Practice set out clear expectations and guidance on good practice in relation to broader areas of uncertainty in wholesale FICC markets.

FMSB Spotlight Reviews encompass a broad range of publications used by FMSB to illuminate important emerging issues in FICC markets. Drawing on the insight of members and industry experts, they provide a way for FMSB to surface nascent challenges market participants face and may inform topics for future work. Spotlight Reviews will often include references to existing law, regulation and business practices. However, they do not set or define any new precedents or standards of business practice applicable to market participants.

All FMSB publications are available on the FMSB website at fmsb.com/our-publications/.

2) Setting up the FMSB was one of the main recommendations from the Fair and Effective Markets Review (FEMR), which was conducted by HM Treasury, the Bank of England, and the Financial Conduct Authority.

FEMR set FMSB four strategic goals:

  1. Identifying global market vulnerabilities through scanning the horizon for emerging business practice risks.
  2. Developing best market practice through the production of standards and other materials that create a common understanding.
  3. Driving global adherence through ensuring standards are comprehensible and practical.
  4. Developing consistent approaches to market practices through identifying gaps and inconsistencies in existing regulatory standards and working with other standards setting bodies.

3) FMSB has a Standards Board drawn from senior executives from across wholesale markets, from corporate clients, asset managers, sell-side participants and intermediaries and infrastructure providers such as exchanges and custodians. In specialist, focused committees, sub-committees and working groups, industry experts debate issues and develop FMSB Standards and Statements of Good Practice, and undertake Spotlight Reviews that are made available to the global community of FICC market participants and regulatory authorities.

4) FMSB members bring together sell-side investment banks, buy-side asset managers, market infrastructure providers and exchanges, custodians and users of the market such as corporates. This constitution is unique.

The member firms are listed on the FMSB website at fmsb.com/who-we-are/.

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