SAVE THE DATE
Date: 27 April 2026
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Overview
Following the success of the joint ICMA, ISDA & ISLA conference in Riyadh this February, we are delighted that ICMA & ISLA will be partnering on a one-day event and returning to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), on 27 April 2026.
The Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and the Future Investment Initiative continue to drive remarkable growth in the country's financial markets and wider economy. Repo and securities lending are an integral part of creating a robust and liquid capital markets eco-system, with ICMA and ISLA playing an integral role in its development, working closely with local regulators, policy makers and firms on key legal, advocacy and regulatory reforms and developments, to further enhance liquidity and market diversification.
Following recent developments, including the publication of close out netting regulation and subsequent legal netting opinions, this one-day event will bring together key local stakeholders including regulators and the securities exchange, prominent regional financial institutions, and global market players, to provide an update on the growth of the SFT market in recent months, operational and infrastructure developments, Islamic repo and securities lending, as well as the Kingdom’s growth in the context of regional and global markets.
Further information including the agenda and registration details will be announced in due course.
Sponsorship opportunities
There are a number of sponsorship packages available, on a first come, first serve basis, all of which include marketing and branding opportunities pre- and post-event.
View the full Sponsorship Menu.
Please reach out to the following leads at each of the respective associations if you have any questions or to express your interest in sponsoring the event.
ICMA | Sanaa Clausse BenAbdelhadi, Senior Director, Head of Business Development (sponsorship@icmagroup.org)
ISLA | Sejal Amin, Head of Events Marketing & Communications (sejal.amin@islaemea.org)
We hope you are able to join us for this inaugural conference, providing unparalleled access and insight into this evolving and exciting market.
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| 09:00 | Registration | |
| 09:30 | Welcome remarks Bryan Pascoe, Chief Executive, ICMA |
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| 09:40 | Setting the scene – Innovation in the global bond markets Moderator: Georgina Jarratt, Managing Director, Head of FinTech and Digitalisation, ICMA
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| 10:15 | Fixing the challenge of operational fragmentation in the primary market Moderator: Armin Peter, Capital Markets Transformation Advisor
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| 10:50 | Break | |
| 11:20 | Will fintech & digitalisation revolutionise sustainable finance? Moderator: Simone Utermarck, Senior Director, Sustainable Finance, ICMA
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| 11:55 | Driving themes of innovation in the buyside Moderator: Irene Rey, Associate Director, Market Practice and Regulatory Policy, ICMA
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| 12:30 | Networking lunch | |
| 13:30 | The algorithm wears your values Birgit Neu, Senior Advisor, Fimatix |
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| 13:45 | Co-existence or convergence? Preserving human distinctiveness in the face of AI Moderator: Katie Kelly, Senior Director, Market Practice and Regulatory Policy, ICMA
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| 13:30 - 14:30 | Roundtables (Invite only) 9fin - Sean Lofgren, VP of Engineering BondAuction – Spencer Maclean, Co-Founder Keeping humans in the loop with AI DXC Technologies – Amit Gupta, Financial Services Sales Co-Lead, UK & Ireland A programmable future for capital markets Tokenovate - Ciarán McGonagle, Chief Legal & Product Officer |
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| 14:30 | Break | |
| 15:00 | Automating the future of fixed income Steve Toland, Co-founder, TransFICC |
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| 15:15 | The evolution of the global digital bond and digital repo ecosystem Moderator: Gabriel Callsen, Senior Director, FinTech and Digitalisation, ICMA
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| 15:50 | Using AI to safeguard the future of capital markets Moderator: Emma Thomas, Associate, FinTech and Digitalisation, ICMA
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| 16:25 | Solving the global interoperability challenge – the role of data, models and standards Moderator: Georgina Jarratt, Managing Director, Head of FinTech and Digitalisation, ICMA
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| 17:00 | Closing remarks Georgina Jarratt, Managing Director, Head of FinTech and Digitalisation, ICMA |
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| 17:05 | Networking reception | |
| 18:00 | Event close |
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9fin is the faster, smarter way to find debt market intelligence. Through an AI-powered data and analytics platform, 9fin centralises everything that's needed to analyse a credit or win a mandate in one place - helping subscribers win business, outperform their peers and save time. |
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DTI Foundation is a non-profit division of Etrading Software, a fintech firm with a mission of solving market-wide problems by building market infrastructure for the digital economy. DTIF’s mission is to provide golden source reference data for unique identification of tokens based on ISO’s new standard for digital assets. dtif.org Established in 1992, the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) is a membership organization of over 120 national numbering agencies (NNAs). ANNA serves as the registration authority for ISIN and FISN standards, appointed by ISO, and has established the ISIN’s role in global financial communications. anna-web.org |
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BondAuction is a platform for the Primary Debt Capital Markets allowing Institutional Investors to submit bids to Underwriters and Issuers of a new deal. Bonds are allotted on a best-price basis bringing transparency and speed to what is currently a frustrating process. Issuers see real market demand, Investors can layer bids and receive full allotments at a price that works for them, Underwriters free up sales time, reduce execution risk and ease regulatory reporting. Deal times are communicated at announcement with hedging and B&D information communicated up front. |
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For more than 115 years, Moody’s Ratings has been a leading provider of credit ratings, research, and risk analysis helping businesses, governments, and other entities around the globe to anticipate, adapt and thrive in this era of exponential risk. |
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SDX is the first fully regulated financial market infrastructure for the issuance, trading, settlement, and custody of digital assets. SDX is licensed by Switzerland’s financial market regulator, FINMA, to operate as a stock exchange and CSD on DLT. As part of the SIX Group, SDX is subject to the Group’s high quality and security standards covered under Swiss law. |
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Tokenovate is a UK-based financial technology company delivering post-trade lifecycle automation and digital settlement solutions for derivatives and securities financing. Built on the Common Domain Model (CDM), our platform connects legal contracts, data, and execution workflows to enable real-time, legally sound, and tokenised post-trade processes. By turning contracts into code, Tokenovate brings precision, automation, and scalability to post-trade operations: reducing risk, cutting costs, and unlocking growth across capital markets. |
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Launched in 2016, TransFICC provides technology that enhances access and automation in Fixed Income. TransFICC builds high performance and robust technology to address the issues of fragmentation, complex workflows, and data throughput. Services include One API for eTrading, IRS eTrading, Credit eTrading and Data Centre Hosting, to deliver workflow efficiency, low latency, scalable and secure connectivity for banks and the buy-side. TransFICC’s clients include 17 top tier investment banks, 4 buy-side firms and 3 Exchange groups. |
Sponsorship opportunities
The ICMA FinTech and Digitalisation Forum provides the perfect opportunity to showcase your know-how and raise your profile in the global movement to automate and digitalise the Capital Market. Please contact the sponsorship team at sponsorship@icmagroup.org to discuss how your firm can take part.
