As the foundation of the financial system, regulated market infrastructure providers seek to engender the trust of all those who depend on neutral, responsible public markets. Each new year offers an opportunity to underscore this mandate and reaffirm this commitment.

In 2024, the WFE’s priorities will focus on fostering efficient market structures that are resilient, robust, fair, transparent and stable in the midst of both uncertainty and innovation.

The priorities:

1. Fostering better corporate governance in the entire financial ecosystem. At present, scrutiny focuses largely on those entities that are already regulated and within legal parameters.

2. The CCPs’ reassurance promise. Fifteen years on from the biggest financial crisis in living memory, and four years after a global pandemic, central clearing remains the steadying influence in markets. The WFE’s focus in 2024 will be on procyclicality, recovery & resolution and transparency and proportionate capital rules.

3. How market infrastructures can lead on ESG issues such as standardization, harmonization and reporting frameworks, as has been the case with the creation of the WFE Green Equities principles.

4. WFE Education: As the WFE’s Market Infrastructure Certificate continues to gather momentum, entering its second year, we’ll focus on rolling out the educational qualifications that will be vital to the next generation of leaders.

5. New technologies, including the evolution of crypto market design, as these new markets begin to grow closer to regulated exchange markets, and the role of AI.

As the global association for the industry, the WFE unites its members as one voice to work towards achieving these priorities, underpinned by our four strategic pillars of advocacy, education, emerging markets and post-trade. The WFE, which represents more than 250 market infrastructures worldwide, will build on its policy and research work across all the priority areas, and will continue to develop industry consensus positions, best practice, standards and industry guidance, in addition to working on emerging trends.

The WFE seeks to engage in, and promote, market development that leads to optimal outcomes in the future and fosters sustainable growth. Our longer-term work around understanding, defining and quantifying the economic and social role of exchanges and CCPs continues, so that we ensure the industry remains close to the issues that affect its stakeholders.

Nandini Sukumar, CEO at the WFE, said: “The WFE Board has determined the key priorities and issues we will focus on this year. With the WFE’s unique position and global view of market structures, our access to data and information, reinforced by our own analysis & research, and the expertise we have built up through experience, we look forward to engaging with stakeholders in 2024 and championing the role of public markets and market-based finance.”