A number of Associations representing the majority of global securities lending market participants today announced that they had formed a group to facilitate collaboration and better coordinate their efforts. The global group, which first met in July, will collaborate on global priorities such as the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in securities lending programmes and advocating the benefits of transparent and regulated short-selling to liquid & sustainable capital markets.
Building on inter-association coordination to develop the Global Framework for ESG and Securities Lending (GFESL), which was released in May, the group aims to develop a more collective approach to matters of global relevance for securities lending. Through sharing resources, insights and experiences, it also seeks to enable more impactful engagement with regulators, exchanges and other standard-setting bodies in all regions.
The founding members of the group are the:
- International Securities Lending Association (ISLA)
- Canadian Securities Lending Association (CASLA)
- Pan Asia Securities Lending Association (PASLA)
- Risk Management Association (RMA)
- South African Securities Lending Association (SASLA)
All recognised securities lending associations and other financial markets associations with an interest in securities lending are welcome to join the group, which will meet virtually on a quarterly basis.
Among its first actions, the group is building a library of ESG resources that draw on the work of different associations. This will be curated to reflect the rapid evolution of ESG in securities lending and made available on each association’s website. The group will also be working together to develop ESG guidelines and thought leadership in areas such as stewardship, voting rights, collateral and transparency in the lending chain, while recognising that sustainable finance regulation and market practice are at different stages of development in different geographies.
“The creation of this group provides an ideal platform to develop and reflect upon how we want to respond to these challenges and opportunities that resonate across all of our markets”, said Andrew Dyson, CEO, ISLA.
Read the full press release here.