Sibos preview Monday: Back in the fold

Plenary and SWIFT Innotribe openings headline the first day as ever, while some essential payments, digital, technology and securities sessions tackle some of the most pressing topics facing their respective sectors.

The delight of being back at an in-person Sibos and subsequent reconnections with global acquittances will likely stretch through all four days of the event, but the feeling will undoubtedly be amplified on Monday.

For those attending their first Sibos, the sheer spectacle of the conference and expo will carry a similar exhilaration. But for all the brilliance of exhibition stands, organised meetings and chance encounters with peers, the sessions of Sibos offer a truly unique experience of knowledge, opinions and inspiration.

Many set out the state of play across the payments and securities industries, while the technology sessions give us a glimpse of the future (and in some cases the present). The geopolitics and risk sessions under the ‘Succeeding in uncertain times’ stream add an important backdrop, and are an essential area of discussion given the current state of uncertainties in the world.

As is often the case, the SWIFT Innotribe opening marks the first not-to-miss session of Sibos 2022, featuring a keynote speech from astronaut André Kuipers, the first Dutchman with two space missions to his name. His second mission was the longest spaceflight in European history at that time. André is set to inspire participants with his insights into the power of teamwork, how to be innovative, and what seeing Earth from space actually taught him.

Familiar to frequent Sibos goers, the Opening Plenary then follows with SWIFT’s Chairman of the Board, Yawar Shah, and CEO, Javier Pérez-Tasso, sharing their perspectives on the last 12 months, the industry challenges ahead, and SWIFT’s role in addressing them.

Preceding them will be a special address by H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA).

Thematically, the day begins with a discussion about the future digital landscape in financial services in the industry session ‘Flipping the digital coin: CBDCs, stablecoins and cryptocurrencies’. Central banks are tripping over themselves to mint new digital currencies or CBDCs (retail or wholesale) to ensure the move to an increasingly digitalised and cashless economy still provides access to the ‘safest’ form of money, central bank money. While a retail CBDC could address issues around financial inclusion, wholesale CBDCs could significantly cut costs and increase transparency in cross-border payments.

Digital is another topic prevalent throughout the day in ‘Connecting digital islands: Joining up digital currencies and payment systems’ and ‘Bridging digital platforms: Is interoperability a pipe dream or possibility?’ hosted by editors Joy Macknight of the Banker and Paul Hindle of Fintech Futures, respectively.

The day is also heavy on securities, particularly around settlement with T+1 and fails the talk of the industry. With the US and Canada planning a move to T+1 in 2024, India’s recent transitioning and Europe inevitably facing a similar future a panel will discuss ‘Is T+1 the goal or a step to instant securities settlement?’. This session will explore the ever-popular theme of whether the adoption of DLT and digital assets for instantaneous settlement would render the T+n debate obsolete? Speakers will discuss what prevents securities from settling instantly: Technology, time zones, liquidity, or is there something else?

In ‘Tackling the root of securities settlement fails’, a panel of experts will also look at why some transactions fail to settle on time, the rising costs and risks associated with this, and delve into a new service that is said to address the issue once and for all. This discussion comes against a backdrop of high rates of settlement failures across the world, as ‘unprecedented’ market events appear to be becoming more, well, precedented and the arrival of Europe’s Settlement Discipline Regime (SDR). The latter was introduced in a bid to reduce settlement fails and shine a light on the reasons behind them through reporting requirements. Things have been, well, a bit shaky to start with.

Both new Sibos attendees and veterans of the conference will be familiar with the ‘Future of Money: Tribal gathering’ dubbed the flagship session for SWIFT Innotribe. Featuring top speakers, the session will provide insights into different aspects of what finance and money will look like in 2030 and beyond.

In a completely new and revamped format, the tribal gathering will feature four tribal leaders listening to four pitches setting out visions for the future of money in 2040. Innotribe notes that its theme for 2022 is 'Growth is gone and everything is a subscription'.

While too many to highlight in one article other fantastic sessions include ‘What's next for the Global Trade Ecosystem?’, an undoubtedly entertaining and enlightening contrarian panel on ESG data and a Spotlight on fighting cybercrime in uncertain times.

The Inside Leadership sessions will see fireside chats with Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Anne Boden, Founder & CEO of Starling Bank and Steven van Rijswijk, CEO and Chairman Executive Board of ING Group.

While the first day will be filled with plenty of “great to see you again” and “isn’t it brilliant to be back” greetings across the event, the agenda-setting, informative and often entertaining sessions throughout the day are not to be missed.