Good morning ladies and gentlemen.
As President of FESE, I am honoured to open the 14th FESE Convention.
As every year, we are proud to bring together a distinguished group of
speakers and delegates from around the world.
On behalf of the FESE members, who operate 42 exchanges all across Europe, I
welcome you to Brussels and to the FESE Convention!
I hope that you enjoyed last night's Gala Dinner and that you are ready to
participate in today's discussions.
Today we will focus on the most topical issues affecting our industry: the
financial crisis, OTC derivatives, equity markets, bond markets, and - last but
certainly not least - the needs of investors.
Before I give the floor to Judith Hardt, Secretary General of FESE, to moderate
the first panel, I would like to share with you some thoughts on the
achievements of the past year and the challenges of the coming year.
First of all, 2009 was the year to start opening a new chapter after the
crisis. It was the year during which we began to grasp the roots of the crisis.
And identify the gaps in the public oversight of the financial sector. And start
taking corrective action.
2009 was a year of study, reflection, debate, and decision. This is a continuing
process. It is not over. The EU faces tough decisions of policy and
implementation in the years to come.
What is clear is that the public sector cannot accomplish any of its goals
without the cooperation of the industry.
I am proud to say that FESE gave its full support to the reform of both the
supervisory process and the regulatory framework in Europe.
And I know that we are not alone. In fact, I know that the industry as a whole
is aware of its historic responsibility.
And what is this responsibility?
It is to fix what is broken in our sector. This is a collective responsibility
for every one of us. Millions of people's savings and jobs are at stake. In
every way we can, we must help the EU policymakers to overcome the problems
exposed by the crisis.
We must show that we are ready to change our business practices and the way we
make money from finance when it is in the interest of the public. The industry
must show that it is not more attached to its bottom-line than to the welfare of
the European investor and taxpayer!
FESE members occupy a unique place in the financial industry. Our exchanges are
built on principles that serve the public interest. Our members see market
transparency as a very concrete tool, not as a theoretical concept.
It is a key element of the public market model they operate. Our members invest
in keeping their markets clean of market abuse. They invest in new technologies
to bring the supply and demand of capital together in the most efficient way.
They diligently check their listed companies' disclosure to their investors.
Now, all this sets us a little apart from other players. Because our commercial
existence is part of a bigger set of objectives that are centred around public
service.
Yes, most exchanges in Europe are for-profit. However, we are equally, perhaps
even more fundamentally, driven by our responsibility to the wider marketplace.
In fact, the confidence of the investors in our markets is our most valuable
asset.
Which is why we care so much about what happens to the broader marketplace.
Stock exchanges cannot control many things that happen in other market segments,
but they are affected by all of these dynamics. If anything in the industry
undermines the confidence of investors, eventually, this will affect the
companies and investors active on our exchanges.
In fact, the crisis showed how inter-connected we all are.If we are not all
safe, then none of us are safe.
And so it is critical for the industry to join forces to get the work done. We
should not be back to business as usual. A new chapter has to be opened.
What should that chapter look like?
As the operators of the public market model, we believe that our experience
is relevant to the changes needed in Europe. We believe in the principles of
neutrality, transparency, safety and efficiency. The public market model is an
example to uphold for Europe. The crisis showed just how important these
principles are to investor protection and to the stability of the financial
system as a whole.
Unfortunately, the crisis also showed that some parts of the market, some
activities, and some instruments, were not well regulated. These gaps led to
near catastrophic consequences for capital markets and the real economy. The
reforms ahead of us must address the flaws and gaps of our legislation. We must
ensure fair competition and establish a level playing field between all venues,
products and players.
Our ultimate goal must be to put the confidence back into the Single Market. To
win the investors' hearts back. Investors in all asset classes must feel safe.
The new chapter in our industry has to place the investor at the heart of all
legislation.
I want to conclude on a positive note. I am confident that we can achieve
these goals. Because for the first time, the European Union has the right tools.
The European Union evolves fast. Sometimes I get the impression that we are so
busy discussing the details that we miss the big picture and forget the gigantic
steps we have taken.
One of the most important achievements of this year is no doubt the Lisbon
Treaty. The Treaty will make the EU both more efficient and more democratic, and
better prepared for the challenges of the future.
The ratification of the Lisbon Treaty should make us proud to be Europeans.
Moreover, the new supervisory structures will contribute to a more coherent and stronger enforcement of EU law in finance.
With these actions, we are strengthening Europe. And it is the right time to do this because we have many challenges ahead of us.
European investors, taxpayers and companies look to the EU to prevent the
catastrophes of the last two years from ever happening again. They want a
smarter, safer, better managed financial sector - they want a business model
that creates genuine, durable and meaningful economic value for the society as a
whole.
As an industry, we face a simple choice.
Either we avoid our responsibilities and pass the buck to a future generation to
deal with the problems - and you can be sure that they will occur again, with an
even bigger force.
Or we make this marketplace a better one.
FESE is fully committed to this goal.
Now is the time for reform.
Thank you very much for your attention.
