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Closing remarks by André Lussi, Chairman, Edmond Israel Foundation
In the name of the Board of the Edmond Israel Foundation and on your behalf, I would like to thank our distinguished speakers and those who have worked hard to make this conference a very special and fruitful event.
It was a very special privilege, here in Paris, to have Jean Claude Trichet, the Governor of Banque de France, Michel Prada, the Chairman of COB and Jean-François Lepetit, the Chairman of Conseil des Marchés Financiers together in this room as very eminent representatives of French financial authorities and to engage them in such a lively and enlightening discussion.
Our guests from outside France have also been of outstanding stature and I would like to thank particularly Ms Jill Considine who came especially from New York to share the perspective that years of market integration have allowed to develop in the US: we, in Europe, need to develop market just as tightly integrated, just as efficient as the one she described. Special thanks also to Iain Saville the CEO of CrestCo., who is at the forefront of the further modernization of the already very modern UK market and to Neil Record who had this spirited manner to remind us that, yes, some markets are truly "without borders", beginning with the currency market that he knows so well. The perspective from Instinet as conveyed by Bradley Hunt was a natural link between the two sides of the Atlantic.
The intellectual preparation for this meeting has been outstanding as illustrated, first of all, by the book Capital Markets without Borders that the Edmond Israel Foundation published in partnership with PROMETHEE under the able guidance of Dr. Albert Bressand. Our meeting benefited immensely from all the work and ideas-sharing that had already gone in the book. I would like to express our gratitude to the staff of the EIF Joëlle Hauser and Eric Zwickel, to Vincent Dessain from INSEAD and the EIF fellows and to our friends and colleagues at PROMETHEE notably Catherine Distler and Marie-France Boudet. The latter was a driving force behind this day and deserves a special tribute.
With such speakers and with this level of preparation, one is not surprised that the quality of presentations and debate has been outstanding. This creates a secure foundation on which we can continue this critically important conversation.
We live in interesting times and the variety of conversation partners here today is a testimony to these times. This conference was quite special in three ways at least:
it was based on the combination of three perspectives that are usually addressed separately: the perspective of good governance and regulation, the perspective of technological change and that of market culture,
it was supported, as I mentioned, by a book and also by a survey of market practitioners that provided depth to our debates,
it was a small forum allowing frank, in-depth exchange of views in a climate of mutual learning.
We have tried today to make productive use of these technologies that market participants know well, this time for an intellectual purpose. So we had our electronic voting. Can you imagine if we had such a device for political elections and decisions? Perhaps one day we will…Meanwhile, the conclusion of our votes is very stimulating indeed. It is very much in favor of the consolidation process at work in the European financial and securities industries. Actually, it would be nice to keep you all here and agree a merger, but the votes that were taken suggest we may have to wait about three years! I think this is achievable, it is realistic, but it also reflects the pace at which we are changing.
Our electronic votes also confirm that participants see the pace of change and the role of technology in positive light. Barriers are also recognized but, again, you are positive about the timeline to achieve further changes.
Food, music and art have been there for our gathering and we have had food for thought and I believe we are all in tune to the needs of the market, so let us start to paint on a larger canvas.
Let us use this event as a starting-point for enlightening conversations: my colleagues on the Board of the Edmond Israel Foundation and I look forward to meeting you all again in the coming months. By the time we hold our second "Capital Markets without Borders" conference, there may already be a few barriers less to talk about, but there will still be a broad agenda for our discussions. We look forward to the day and act toward the time, when our countries will have achieved a capital market truly "without borders" as one of the critical ingredients for a prosperous, socially successful entrepreneurial Europe.
If a business person has one special insight to contribute in this debate it is that the measure of our success is execution. Determined execution is what distinguishes achievement from promises. Therefore, let us meet again at our second conference. Until then, I wish you all the best.
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