Written on: 10 June 2015

Leading firms commit to supporting FMSB

London, 10 June. The Market Practitioner Panel (“MPP”), an independent body created to advise the Fair and Effective Markets Review (“FEMR”), welcomes the proposed creation of the FICC Markets Standards Board (“FMSB”), announced today.

Independent of, but supported by leading market participants, the FMSB will involve members from across FICC wholesale markets, including corporate issuers and users, banks, broker-dealers, market infrastructure providers and investment managers. The FMSB will work to raise standards and promote best practice in wholesale fixed income, currency and commodity markets, with a focus on both competence and behaviours among participants.

Elizabeth Corley, Chair of the MPP, said:

“We support the creation of a new cross-sectoral body, committed to raising standards in wholesale FICC markets.

As we said in the MPP’s consultation response, the abuses that took place in FICC markets were both widespread and totally unacceptable. Looking forward, it is essential that the industry plays its part fully in taking responsibility for raising standards and restoring trust in these markets. By drawing on the expertise of international market practitioners and combining this with the discipline of end-users, the FMSB will be able to identify and respond to market conduct and effectiveness vulnerabilities as they emerge, acting as a catalyst for guidelines of best market practice where it identifies areas of market uncertainty.

It is right that the FMSB involves, and is able to speak for, participants across the whole of markets, including clients. The MPP’s membership feels strongly that creating an independent, respected body where corporates, banks, investment managers and other market participants can meet to identify common challenges will help establish an enduring culture of openness and dialogue among financial services firms.

It is also vital that the FMSB’s membership is truly international, reflecting the global nature of FICC markets and enabling the FMSB to facilitate serious, active and forward-thinking engagement in the UK and, ultimately, around the world.”

The following organisations have today committed to supporting the FMSB:

  • Allianz Global Investors
  • Association of Corporate Treasurers
  • Barclays
  • BlackRock
  • BNP Paribas
  • BNY Mellon
  • Citi
  • CQS
  • Deutsche Bank
  • GE Corporation
  • Goldman Sachs
  • HSBC
  • J.P. Morgan
  • Legal & General Investment Management
  • London Stock Exchange Group
  • M&G Investments
  • Morgan Stanley
  • Newton Asset Management
  • RBS
  • Royal Dutch Shell
  • Scotiabank
  • Société Générale
  • Standard Life Investments
  • State Street
  • UBS
  • Unilever

A number of other leading firms are already in advanced discussions with the FMSB. The FMSB will welcome interest from further UK and international firms keen to engage with it, ensuring its work draws on the deepest possible pool of expertise.

Elizabeth Corley will act as the FMSB’s interim Chair, providing continuity of leadership and focus from the work already carried out by the MPP.

The MPP was established in June 2014 as part of the Chancellor’s announcement of the Fair and Effective Markets Review, to ensure the views of the financial services industry were reflected in the Review. The MPP’s members, appointed independently, were announced in July 2014 and include senior industry leaders from investment banking and asset management firms, market infrastructure providers, major corporate users of financial markets and a number of independent members with deep experience of financial services.

Recent posts: