SIX’s head of Clearing Services Bayley appointed SWIFT board member
SIX announced that Laura Bayley, Head Clearing Services, SIX, has been appointed today as a new board member at SWIFT, the provider of secure financial messaging services. SWIFT’s board composition is designed to ensure SWIFT’s global relevance, support its international reach and uphold its strict neutrality.
Bayley is originally a lawyer and has extensive experience in regulatory topics and projects related to financial market infrastructures. She has worked at SIX since 2016 and at SIX x-clear since 2020. Responsible for regulatory and strategic topics within SIX x-clear, she has gained insights into the functioning of the clearing market and has been heavily involved in various integration projects between SIX x-clear and BME Clearing.
In May 2022, Laura took over the management of SIX x-clear at a legal entity level and continues to be responsible for regulatory and governance topics across BME and SIX on a functional level within the area of clearing. She is a board member of EACH and also a permanent guest on the Management Board of the Securities Services Business Unit of SIX. Prior to working at SIX, Laura worked for a large Swiss law firm.
Bayley said in a statement: “In this position, I will contribute my experience to the smooth running of this important organization for the benefit of the global financial system, and I look forward to working with the other SWIFT board members”.
OCC Welcomes Citadel Securities CTO Josh Woods to board
The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) announced the appointment of Josh Woods, Citadel Securities’ chief technology officer, to its board of directors. Woods has nearly 20 years of experience in finance and technology.
“Josh has a deep knowledge and understanding of financial technology, and we are pleased to welcome him as a director and a member of our Technology Committee,” said Craig Donohue, OCC chair, in a statement. “Our board and members will benefit from Josh’s expertise as we continue to foster innovation for market participants while promoting stability and integrity in our markets.”
At Citadel Securities, Woods leads technology teams that design and build the cutting-edge systems that power global trading and keep the firm at the forefront of finance and technology. Woods was previously a senior director of Engineering at Oracle, responsible for engineering infrastructure and cloud-related initiatives.
Marcus Robinson appointed head of CDSClear and head of DigitalAssetClear
LCH SA announced that Marcus Robinson has been appointed head of CDSClear and head of DigitalAssetClear. The appointment follows Frank Soussan’s, formerly global head of CDSClear and head of SA EquityClear & CommodityClear, decision to leave the Group. Robinson, previously head of Strategy for LSEG Post Trade, will lead CDSClear in the next phase of international expansion, particularly across the US, following the launch of client clearing to US firms in February 2024.
He will also focus on bringing to market DigitalAssetClear and its subsequent development, following recent regulatory approvals. Marcus will report to Corentine Poilvet-Clédière, CEO, LCH SA and join the LCH SA leadership team.
Corentine Polivet Clediere, CEO, LCH SA, said in a statement: “I look forward to working with Marcus as we continue to build our multi-asset class offering, and deliver new products and services across CDSClear and DigitalAssetClear, from LCH SA, the leading EU-based clearing house.”
Having worked with LSEG Post Trade for 15 years, most recently as head of Strategy, Robinson brings a deep understanding of the business. He was previously head of Asia Pacific for LCH, where he established and led the clearing service’s expansion in the region.
Prior to this, Robinson was COO and director of Business Change of SwapClear, where he contributed extensively to the design and roll out of the FCM client clearing model and gained extensive knowledge of the US market; experiences which make him well suited to lead CDSClear’s US expansion. Before joining LCH, he worked for J.P. Morgan in its investment banking and asset management divisions and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in the Financial Markets division.
Roz Smith named chief operating officer at Broadridge
Broadridge Financial Solutions announced the appointment of Roz Smith as chief operating officer of Broadridge International. Based in London, she will work closely with Mike Sleightholme, president of Broadridge International, to further scale and grow Broadridge internationally for services delivery in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific regions.
“We are thrilled to welcome Roz to help accelerate the ongoing growth and transformation of Broadridge International, where she will help expand our client relationships and footprint across financial markets while advancing the customer experience and optimizing our operational efficiency throughout all areas of our international business,” said Mike Sleightholme, in a statement. “Roz is an established leader, and we are excited to add her deep understanding of financial services and extensive program management capabilities as we strategically guide Broadridge International to its next stage of expansion, helping clients operate, innovate and grow.”
In her role, Smith will focus on scaling and streamlining the Broadridge International business for operating efficiency and productivity, and will oversee implementation processes and program management and be responsible for country and regional level organizational structure. Combined with a cohesive approach to satisfying client needs through broader, segment-specific solutions, Smith will also help ensure best practices are further extended across functions, business units, and geographies.
Smith said in a statement: “Broadridge is a trusted global technology partner and innovator with a proven track record of powering business transformation. I am looking forward to working with the talented team at Broadridge and using my experience and leadership to bring a meaningful impact to the company, its clients and the wider industry.”
Prior to joining Broadridge, Smith spent eighteen years in management roles at HSBC, where she most recently served as Head of Strategy and Change Management in the Non Financial Risk team of the bank’s Markets & Securities Services business.
SFT: Ahlner and Kelly join HQLAX
HQLAX has hired Staffan Ahlner and Bill Kelly to serve as strategic advisors for the fintech, according to Securities Finance Times. In their new roles, the two securities finance and collateral veterans will assist in identifying ways to further accelerate market adoption for the HQLAX platform.
Ahlner joins the company after departing from State Street, where he acted as global head of collateral during his three years with the firm. Kelly joins HQLAX after retiring from BNY in May 2023, having held a 21-year term with the bank, during which he was most recently managing director and global head of securities finance.
US President Biden announces nominees for FDIC, Treaasury, SEC and FSOC
The US White House announced Joe Biden’s intent to nominate the following individuals to serve as leaders in his administration:
- Christy Goldsmith Romero, nominee to be chair and member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: served as a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) since March 2022 and sponsors the CFTC’s Technology Advisory Committee which examines cybersecurity, and emerging technology. She has more than 20 years of experience as a career federal attorney and leader in financial regulation, serving under four presidents.
- Kristin Johnson, nominee to be assistant secretary for Financial Institutions, Department of the Treasury: CFTC commissioner and expert on financial markets risk management law and policy with specialization in the regulation of complex financial products including the origination, distribution, and secondary market trading, clearing, and settlement of securities and derivatives.
- Caroline Crenshaw, nominee to be a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission: focused relentlessly on strengthening investor protections in our increasingly complex markets and helping to oversee the institutions that manage millions of Americans’ savings. Prior to that, she served as a career SEC staff attorney in the Division of Examinations and the Division of Investment Management, and as counsel to Commissioners Kara Stein and Robert Jackson. In addition, Crenshaw currently serves as a captain in the US Army Reserve, Judge Advocate General’s Corps.
- Gordon Ito, nominee to be a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council: currently serves as the Insurance Commissioner for the State of Hawaii. As Commissioner, he focuses on the risks and increased insurance costs that climate change poses to the insurance market. He is a member of several working committees, including the International Insurance Relations Committee.
EACH elects co-chairs and new board
The European Association of CCP Clearing Houses (EACH) announced that members voted to renew the mandate of the EACH co-chairs Julien Jardelot, Niels Brab and Tim Grange and elected the new board for a two-year term
The elected EACH Board is as follows:
- Niels Brab, Eurex Clearing’s head of Group Regulatory Strategy & Government Relations for co-chair, board member
- Tim Grange, ICE Clear Europe’s director of Regulatory Policy for co-chair board member
- Julien Jardelot, LCH’s head of Europe, Government Relations & Regulatory Strategy at LSEG for co-chair, board member
- Xavier Aguila BME Clearing’s general manager for board member
- Ludovic Aigrot, Nasdaq Clearing’s vice president and head of Government Relations Europe as board member
- Laura Bayley, SIX x-clear’s chief executive officer as board member
- Paola Fico, Euronext Clearing’s head of Italy Regulation as board member
- Arnoud Siegmann, CBOE Clear Europe’s chief operating officer as board member
- Marcin Truchanowicz KDPW_CCP’s managing director as board member
The General Assembly also elected a treasurer and internal auditor for a two-year mandate:
- Stefan Kowanda, ECC’s expert Political & Regulatory Affairs as treasurer
- Truchanowicz as Internal Auditor
EACH co-chairs Julien Jardelot, Niels Brab and Tim Grange, said in a joint statement: ‘We are delighted to the trust European CCP and clearing houses are putting in us by renewing our mandate to represent the EACH community. We aim to increase the understating of how CCPs contribute to robust and more efficient capital markets for the benefit of businesses, investors and the economy as a whole. We welcome the efforts of different European jurisdictions to further diversify funding opportunities by strengthening capital markets and believe CCPs and clearing houses have a key role to play in supporting these efforts’.
EACH secretary general Rafael Plata said: ‘The next two years are likely crucial to plant the seeds of a new era of capital markets in Europe. Companies, investors and pensioners amongst other are likely to benefit from it. I look forward to continuing working with the capital markets ecosystem to make the dream of deeper and strong capital markets in Europe come true’.
CLS appoints five new board directors
CLS announced the appointment of five new members to its board of directors: Teddy Cho (BNY Mellon), Scott Lucas (J.P. Morgan), Akila Raman (Goldman Sachs), Peter Whitelaw (National Australia Bank) and Michael Lawrence (Independent / Outside Director). The CLS board now comprises 21 directors in total, eight of whom are designated as outside or independent directors.
- Cho serves as the managing director and chief information officer for the Markets business at BNY Mellon. With a career spanning more than three decades in senior technology roles at major financial institutions — including Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and Salomon Smith Barney. Cho brings extensive expertise in developing complex technology systems for trading, risk management, post-trade processing and settlement.
- Lucas is the managing director and head of Markets DLT at J.P. Morgan. He leads development of trading products leveraging emerging DLT market capabilities, representing J.P. Morgan on various industry initiatives related to DLT, and sits on the board of leading fintechs Ownera and HQLAX. Lucas moved into this role after spending most of his career in the Chief Investment Office and Treasury team at J.P. Morgan.
- Raman is partner, chief commercial and strategy officer of Transaction Banking at Goldman Sachs. She is responsible for scaling Goldman Sachs Transaction Banking (TxB) – a digital banking platform for corporate and institutional clients. Raman has held several senior roles within Goldman Sachs, including chief operating officer of the Investment Banking Division. Throughout her career she has advised on numerous complex acquisition financings, brought important Debt IPOs to market and mitigated interest rate and foreign currency risk for many of the firm’s most important clients.
- Whitelaw is the executive general manager for Resilience Risk at National Australia Bank. He is responsible for NAB Group’s financial and operational risk management policies, frameworks and risk appetite. Whitelaw has an extensive background in financial markets, having served as a chief risk officer for NAB’s Corporate and Institutional Bank and the Bank of New Zealand. Prior to joining NAB, he held senior risk management positions at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
- Lawrence, a former managing director at Citigroup, has a career spanning more than 25 years at Citi, where he held numerous senior roles. During his tenure as Citi’s Managing Director, Transaction & Processing Risk head, he created a new first line risk and control function within Markets, tasked with the oversight and management of Operational and Compliance risks contained within the operation of business processes end-to-end.
Gottfried Leibbrandt, board chair, said in a statement that the new directors’ extensive market infrastructure knowledge, combined with leadership experience and expertise in digital innovation, technology and risk, will be invaluable: “We look forward to their contributions as we continue to develop CLS’s services to address the evolution of the FX market.”