Event overview

The emergence of proprietary bank tools; the place of external data, technology and solutions providers; the rise of non-bank electronic platforms; the application of AI, Big Data, and Cloud computing … This has become an all-consuming topic for the institutional capital markets.

But how is the primary bond market utilising elements of the above. And what is the end-game? To make existing processes more efficient or create something more structurally transformational?

Events Radar will tackle this and a host of other themes at the Second Annual: Assessing the Impact of Regulation and Technology on Primary Bond Markets. The first event was a fascinating insight into the state-of-play at a time of significant regulatory change. This year’s unmissable follow-up event will focus on developments and how much further the market has come.

The panel of expert speakers will discuss where the market is on the journey from single-step automation to true vertical integration and connect-the-dots commonality. Is the market headed to a genuine technology-driven market-structure shift?

A key question in this complex debate is how technology-enabled efficiency improvements will ultimately benefit borrowers as they look to access primary debt markets. What are underwriters bringing to the table to better operationalise the multiple processes involved in pushing debt issuance along the life-cycle value-chain from origination through marketing and syndication to final distribution?

Among topics to be discussed:

• How has the application of technology and other solutions made the debt capital-raising process more efficient?
• To what extent has automation reduced the burden of administratively-intensive steps – syndicate messaging, interpreting price feedback, market updates, book reconciliation – involved in getting an issue to market?
• Have the multiple steps involved been stitched together seamlessly? Where are the remaining pain points?
• Where are we on standard documentation or some form of template documentation?
• Are third-party non-bank providers the critical link to creating a seamless ecosystem?
• What role do and/or should external data and solutions vendors play in the emerging primary ecosystem?
• Should a market-wide utility infrastructure be the end-game?
• Where is the market on adoption of DLT for primary bonds?
• What is the regulatory and supervisory response to the notion of technology disruption?

Moderated by Keith Mullin, the event will convene a panel of experts from across the broad market ecosystem to assess the impact of the various strands of technology change and the inexorable rise of fintech and technology solutions on the world of bond issuance.