The Association for Financial Markets in Europe advocates stable, competitive and sustainable European financial markets that support economic growth and benefit society.

With the new MEPs taking up their seats in the European Parliament and the changeover at the top of the European institutions well underway, AFME members were invited to join this June Member Briefing to hear what the priorities will be for the new European Commission and Parliament. Members were joined in the Briefing by: Simon Lewis, Chief Executive, AFME Donald Ricketts,Head of Financial Services, FleishmanHillard Stefano Mazzocchi,Managing Director, Deputy Head of AFME Brussels office

With the UK due to leave the EU on 29th March, and political uncertainty looking likely to continue, this timely discussion examined the key operational challenges firms face in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Members were joined in the Briefing by: Simon Lewis, Chief Executive, AFME Andrew Gray,Head of Brexit, PwC Galina Dimitrova,Director, Investment and Capital Markets, The Investment Association

With the UK Parliament's 'Meaningful Vote' on the Withdrawal Agreement having been postponed, this timely Briefing provided expert analysis on 'what next?' for the Brexit process. Members were joined in the Briefing by: Simon Lewis,Chief Executive, AFME Chris Bates,Global Head of Financial Regulatory and Markets Practice, Clifford Chance LLP Michael Prescott, Group MD, Corporate and Political Strategy, Hanover

In the context of significant developments on anti-money laundering in recent months at the EU level, this Member Briefing discussed the significance of recent regulatory policy initiatives such as the European Commission’s proposal to reinforce the role of the EBA in anti-money laundering supervision and the recently adopted 4th and 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directives. In this timely Briefing, Adam Willman, Director, Financial Crime and Tax Policy at AFME, gave an overview of recent developments before handing over to AFME’s Head of Compliance, Will Dennis, and industry experts, debated the challenges of how to effectively tackle money laundering while not unduly increasing the regulatory burden on firms. Members were joined in the Briefing by: John Clarke,Money Laundering Reporting Officer,Standard Advisory London Susannah Cogman,Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills Will Dennis,Head of Compliance, AFME Rajiv Kapur,Executive Director - Risk & Policy Group, Financial Crime Compliance, Goldman Sachs Adam Willman, Director, Financial Crime and Tax Policy, AFME

The EU (Withdrawal)Act, which transposesthebody of EU-derived lawinto UK legislation,received royal assent on 27June. Over the coming weeks, the UK Governmentis expected to start publishing a large volume of secondary legislationto make amendmentsto adapt the acquisin areas where it would be unworkable to directly transfer EU legislation into UK law.Given the large volume of financial services regulation derived from EU law and the inherent policy choices involved in adapting it to a UK framework outside the EU, the secondary legislation is likely to have significant implications for firms. Members were joined in thebriefing by: Chris Bates, Partner, Clifford Chance LLP Simon Lewis,Chief Executive, AFME Oliver Moullin,Managing Director, BrexitandGeneral Counsel, AFME Arved Kolle, Manager,Brexit, AFME

With IBORs due to be phased out over coming years and work continuing to identify the new benchmark rates which will replace them, the Briefing discussed the implications for industry. AFME experts and external speakers discussed the key issues that the transition poses and what action will need to be taken to ensure it goes smoothly. Members were joined in the Briefing by: Iain Budge, Vice President, UK & Ireland FI Solutions, NatWest Markets Marcus Mackenzie, Partner Global Transactions, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP Jessica Wrigley, Knowledge Lawyer, Global Transactions, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP Richard Hopkin, Managing Director, Head of Fixed Income, AFME Anna Bak, Associate Director, Securitisation, AFME Alex Hunt, Quantitative Analyst, AFME Stevi Iosif, Associate Director, Advocacy, AFME

AFME recently published a new report, ‘Impact of Regulation on Banks’ Capital Markets Activities: Anex-postassessment’.While there have been many forward-looking studies examining how banks may respond to regulatory reforms, this study is the first that examines theactualimpact of regulations 10 years on from the global financial crisis. This member briefing examined key findings from the study.Members were joined in the Briefing byNick Forrest, Director, Financial Economics, PwC,Michael Lever, Managing Director, Head of Prudential Regulations, AFME, Rick Watson, Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets, AFME and Pablo Portugal, Director, Advocacy, AFME

The European Commission recently announced ambitious Sustainable Finance and FinTech Action Plans, the latest part of its Capital Markets Union initiative. This Members' Briefing examined the announcements in closer detail, highlighting the most significant aspects and exploring what they mean for the industry. Members were joined in the briefing by Edmund Lakin, Manager, Global Markets Policy at HSBC, and Adriana Ennab, Director, Public Policy, from Credit Suisse, as well as AFME experts Pablo Portugal, Director, Advocacy, Cedric Pacheco, Manager, Capital Markets and David Ostojitsch, Director, Technology and Operations.

With GDPR’s implementation date of 25 May fast approaching, we gave an overview of key compliance areas that firms will need to focus on, including record-keeping, outsourcing management, international data transfers and data subject rights. Members were joined on the call by Richard Jones, Director of Data Privacy, Clifford Chance, Richard Middleton, Co-Head of AFME’s Policy division and Nathan Coffey, EMEA Head of Data Privacy and Technology Compliance, JPMorgan, who shared their expert insight on key GDPR issues.