The EBRD has started to involve itself in the CCP architecture in CEE. Susanna Scheffold presented her views at a high profile conference in London.
At the event titled “Feasibility of a Regional Central Counterparty in Central and Eastern Europe”, hosted by the EBRD at its headquarters in the City, heavy weight market players, including UniCredit, discussed the prospects for a regional approach in securities clearing. A distinct audience of some 50 representatives of CSDs, global custodians, broker/dealers and asset managers from across Europe attended the panels.
EBRD Vice President András Simor and André Küüsvek, who overlooks the Local Currency and Capital Markets Development at EBRD, left no doubt that their institution supports the idea of creating a regional CCP.
UniCredit was represented by Susanna Scheffold, Head of Global Securities Services, who during her panel took a strong position in favour of a regional CCP, which would be able to operate more economically than any local CCP ever could. But she pointed out that a regional CCP would just be a step towards a standardised overall infrastructure, while other aspects such as liquidity, a range of quality stocks, supportive legal preconditions and uniform links to the local CSDs are equally essential for creating an efficient capital market framework.
“Evolutionary growth rather than revolutionary growth” was what Susanna Scheffold advocated at her panel. UniCredit GSS will keep you informed about the developments regarding a potential future CEE CCP.