Introduction
There seem to be two rather distinct themes to your conference today:
The first is all about opportunity, the future, things you might want to do: fintech, AI, new tools and ways of working. All symbolised by a rather inspiring yellow lightbulb icon on your agenda:
The second is all about the grim stuff: black swans, operational risks, or whatever else might lurk in your 'hall of horrors' sessions later - and the things you have to do in response.
I'm not 100% sure which camp this speech has been put in. But I think there's a clue in the icon you've put next to my name in the programme - which is a revolutionary clenched fist-
In one sense I understand why I've been given a pugnacious icon. The programme to move the market from LIBOR to risk-free rates is a huge undertaking. Its goal is vital, and simply stated: to eliminate the profound system-wide vulnerabilities posed by LIBOR. And the deadline is clear: end-2021. But delivering it is as complex a task as any the financial sector has faced over the past decade, involving a global network of market participants and public authorities, and touching most systems, products and markets in some way.