Agenda

08.30

Registration and breakfast

09.15

Chairperson's opening remarks

Amanda Thomas, partner, Allen & Overy

09:25

The latest from ESMA and the European Commission

This session will focus on the new Prospectus Regulation regime two months in. Additionally, you will hear from ESMA on what they are doing with Level 3 guidance, and the Commission on the finalised Level 2 delegated acts

Cesare Posti, policy officer – prospectus team, securities markets unit, European Commission
Angeliki Vogiatzi, senior policy officer, ESMA

10.00

COFFEE BREAK

10.30

Regulators feedback panel

National regulatory authority views, messages, clarifications and interpretations on the key technical areas of the Prospectus Regulation, including risk factor ordering and materiality

What appear to be the key areas of confusion for market participants?
Regulator views and guidance on risk factor disclosure and prospectus summaries
To what extent are the advertisement requirements and data submission requirements causing issues for market participants?
The latest on benchmarks as they relate to prospectuses and new bond issues
Assessing the impact of Brexit

Amanda Thomas, partner, Allen & Overy (moderator)

Pauline Chadenet, senior policy officer, international affairs division, Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) – France

Ina O’Sullivan, manager, regulated disclosures – primary markets, Central Bank of Ireland

Stephan Weinandy, deputy head of section "policy", securities division, BaFin

Nike Trost, manager - UKLA, Financial Conduct Authority

11.30

Industry roundtable session

The Prospectus Regulation in practice, the impact of Brexit, and other major issues and developments affecting the industry today

What are the key Prospectus Regulation concerns for primary market participants?
What teething problems are industry participants experiencing under the new prospectus regime?
What current concerns are there in relation to the categorisation of risk factors?
What strategy and tactics are issuers adopting around programme updates?
What do you now need to bear in mind when updating your base prospectus?
To what extent are issuers increasingly looking to list on alternative markets?
Considering the impact of LIBOR cessation on prospectuses

Reena Parmar, senior knowledge lawyer, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (moderator)

Emily Wilson, legal DCM, Barclays Investment Bank

Axel Wernbro, senior legal counsel, Danske Bank

Carolyn Boey, director, associate general counsel, legal department – EMEA, Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Lorna Kelly, head of treasury legal, Virgin Money

12.45

NETWORKING LUNCH

14.00

The latest on regulated and exchange regulated markets - views from Ireland, the UK and Luxembourg

To what extent are issuers looking beyond regulated markets to the ISM, GEM and Euro MTF markets?
What are the main reasons behind issuer decisions to move to alternative markets
Are moves being prompted by concerns over the burden and impact of the Prospectus Regulation (for example, unhappiness with risk factors)?
How are the new professional only segments playing out?

Lachlan Burn, partner, Linklaters (moderator)

Maurizio Pastore, vice president, Euronext

Carlo Oly, head of issuers and clients, Luxembourg Stock Exchange

Graham Walker, manager, primary market regulation, London Stock Exchange Group

14.45

Green bonds and the move towards more sustainable financing - what you need to know.

With governments around the world supporting the move towards sustainable financing, and with a growing demand in industry for investments that provide a financial return while supporting the UN’s sustainable development goals, this session focuses on what issuers need to know about green bond issuances.

Among other things, the session will look at and consider:

the EU Commission’s Action Plan for sustainable finance
the Taxonomy Regulation
how disclosure for sustainable finance should be handled
liability issues that arise in this area – for example, from the change of prospectus focus from issuer credit to use of proceeds for ‘green’ purposes regardless of credit

Lachlan Burn, partner, Linklaters (moderator)

Maya Mehta, co-ordinating sustainable finance for corporate & institutional banking legal, BNP Paribas

Clare Burgess, partner, Clifford Chance

Nicholas Pfaff, managing director, market practice and regulatory policy, International Capital Market Association (ICMA)*

15.30

COFFEE BREAK

15.50

Other key market and regulatory developments affecting the primary market

Life after Libor – how are the capital market participants dealing with the move away from IBORs towards risk free rates and what are the options for handling the legacy bond problem?
Priips – where are we now?
Understanding the universal registration document (URD) requirements
- To what extent are they less flexible and more burdensome for issuers than the existing MTN programme base prospectus?
Analysing the impact of the EU Growth prospectus

Ruari Ewing, senior director, market practice and regulatory policy, International Capital Market Association

Catherine Wade, counsel PSL, Linklaters

George Hacket, partner, Clifford Chance

16.30

CHAIRPERSON'S CLOSING REMARKS

16.40

CLOSING DRINKS RECEPTION