IIF Steering Committee on Regulatory Capital (SCRC) 

The SCRC is the senior group within the IIF responsible for coordinating efforts in the area of regulatory capital and liquidity requirements. It plays a central role in leading industry responses to the Basel III reform proposals and engaging in dialogue with the Basel Committee. This Committee also works in collaboration with the SCER (see below) on systemically relevant issues of institutions. Membership within the committee is comprised exclusively of senior executives from IIF member banks and is by invitation only. The following SCRC working groups are called upon periodically for relevant consultations: 

• Working Group on Capital Adequacy (WGCA): The WGCA interfaces with several of the Basel Committee’s sub-groups to address technical issues, especially in regard to credit risk, leverage and capital, including related issues such as large exposures. 
• Working Group on Market Risk (WGMR): The WGMR interfaces with the Basel Committee’s working group on the Trading Book to address technical issues related to revision of the Basel requirements on market risk. 
• Working Group on Liquidity (WGL): The WGL develops positions on liquidity issues for debate with the Basel Committee and other official-sector entities; it is focused on making industry suggestions to still-pending major issues, such as rules for linked transactions and derivatives under the Net Stable Funding Ratio, implementation of intraday liquidity monitoring tools and liquidity disclosure.   
• Disclosure Working Group (DWG): The Disclosure Working Group provides a voice for banks on global risk disclosure issues. The Group continues to sustain dialogue with the Enhanced Disclosure Task Force (EDTF) in order to support the IIF’s role as an observer-member of the EDTF. The EDTF is a multi-sector stakeholders’ group. This group, organized at the behest of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), has published recommendations on improving risk disclosures of banks. Now, the DWG has added focus on the Basel Committee’s revision of Pillar 3 disclosures. It also seeks constructive ways to improve disclosure in the global industry, including reducing redundant or outmoded disclosures. The staff provides a liaison between the Disclosure Working Group and the Senior Accounting Group. 
• Sovereign Working Group: The Sovereign Working Group assesses regulatory proposals on the credit risk treatment of banks’ exposures to sovereign counterparties, including how these interact with other regulatory requirements, most notably liquidity. 

IIF RWA Task Force (IRTF) 

The IRTF is an industry project aimed at addressing concerns about the current Basel framework mainly focused on RWA variance across banks using internal approaches and the lack of comparability and transparency of internal models. This Task Force conducts analysis and produces principles/recommendations on how to improve the internal models approaches of the capital framework, and as such, promote the retention of a risk sensitive capital framework.  

Senior Accounting Group (SAG) 

The Senior Accounting Group addresses accounting issues of significance from a cross-border perspective, including such questions as provisioning, hedge accounting, fair-value measurement, disclosure, and IFRS-US GAAP convergence. It participates in regular dialogue with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and the Accounting Experts’ Group of the Basel Committee (AEG), the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the U.S. SEC, and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). 

IIF Special Committee on Effective Regulation (SCER) 

The SCER oversees the Institute’s participation in the ongoing dialogue between the official sector, including the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and G20. It aims at identifying effective and efficient approaches for cross-border regulation, and it aims to provide private-sector input to the global dialogue on development of a new financial regulatory architecture. Membership within the committee is by invitation only. The following SCER working group is called upon periodically for relevant consultations:  

• Cross-Border Resolution Working Group (CBRWG): The CBRWG develops industry views on resolution-related issues such as bail-in, international cooperation on resolution, requirements for Total Loss Absorbing Capacity (TLAC), and recovery and resolution plan requirements for banks as well as resolution issues affecting Central Counterparties and other Financial-Market Infrastructure entities. The group participates in regular colloquia with the official sector and other stakeholders.  

IIF Insurance Regulatory Committee (IRC) 

This committee, consisting of insurance and bank-affiliated insurance entities, is a senior level oversight group in charge of providing leadership and strategic guidance to the insurance-advocacy activities of the IIF, and overseeing the work of the insurance working group (IWG). This includes giving strategic guidance on topical issues which the IWG ought to address, approving its working program and major reports as well as playing a key role in promoting the IIF’s role in insurance. The Committee is composed exclusively of senior executives (Chairman / CEO / CFO or CRO) from IIF insurance member firms. 

• Insurance Working Group (IWG): The Insurance Working Group is tasked with, from a technical perspective, the insurance agenda of the Institute (i.e., regulatory Capital Requirements, Group Supervision, Systemic Risk, Recovery and Resolution as well as Risk Management and Governance Issues) under the oversight of the IRC. Participants include senior capital and risk managers, Heads of Government Affairs/Public Policy and regulatory experts. The various sub- and working groups often work with our colleagues at the Geneva Association (GA) to provide industry responses with truly global representation.   Learn more

Non-Bank Non-Insurance Working Group (NBNI) 

The NBNI Working Group is tasked with responding to the development of activity-based recommendations as well as the methodology to identify any residual entity-based systemic risk. The group focuses on initiatives undertaken by the G20, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), and IOSCO impacting Non-Bank Non-Insurance firms. An aim of the Working Group is to ensure that policy measures accurately account for differences between institutions and effectively reduce systemic risk. 

IIF Committee on Governance and Industry Practice (CGIP)  

The CGIP seeks to identify and promote sound industry practices in the areas of risk management, risk governance, corporate governance and compensation. It works with the supervisory community on identifying ways in which such practices can be leveraged as part of the supervisory oversight of firms, for example on requirements and practices for gathering and analyzing risk data. 

• Data and IT Issues Working Group: The Data and IT Issues Working Group focuses on regulatory IT and data requirements for member firms, including interaction with the Basel Committee’s Working Group on Systemically Important Bank Supervision, especially on the interpretation and implementation of the Basel Principles of Risk Data Aggregation; with the Financial Stability Board (FSB) in its ongoing Data Gaps Initiative to fill the international data gaps identified in connection with G20 priorities and to develop an international Common Data Template; and with the Senior Supervisors’ Group in its work and pronouncements on data quality and data governance issues. In general, it organizes efforts to provide a voice for firms, at the international level, to put forward their views and issues, focusing on integrated and strategic solutions to the many and varied demands on banks’ IT and human resources to meet data and information requirements for regulatory, risk-management and business purposes. 
   
• Risk and Corporate Governance Working Group: The Risk and Corporate Governance Working Group engages in discussions and works on sound practice in the area of global industry governance and on standards/principles developed by the international regulatory community which address misconduct and compensation risk.  

AML/ATF Working Group 

The AML/ATF Working Group contributes to the growing global debate on Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Finance regulations and their impact not only on banks and asset managers but on global commerce and vulnerable countries in the global financial system. The Working Group responds to official consultations on AML/ATF issues and seeks ways to increase understanding of the industry’s issues when dealing with AML/ATF regulation and enforcement actions. The Institute also organizes regular colloquia in Europe and North America on issues related to AML and ATF regulation, including questions of “de-risking” and financial inclusion, especially regarding their impact on Emerging Market countries. The aim is to seek constructive solutions to AML/ATF problems while minimizing negative fallout effects on the overall economy. Learn More

Council for Asset and Investment Management (CAIM) 

The Council for Asset and Investment Management (CAIM) brings together senior executives from the global institutional investment community, including major asset managers, life insurance companies, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds collectively accounting for some $28 trillion in assets under management. The Council meets regularly to discuss topical issues pertaining to long-term investment, challenges for asset allocation, regulatory reforms affecting the financial services industry and the impact of structural change and new financial technologies. 

In recent years the Council has established a robust dialogue with leading international policymakers, including via interactive small-group meetings alongside G20 Ministerial Meetings and during IMF/World Bank Meetings. The group also meets for regionally focused gatherings with officials and policymakers, which in recent years have included London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Tokyo, Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Doha, Jakarta and Lima as wellas New York and Washington D.C. 

The Council advocates on behalf of institutional investors, both through dialogue and via position papers, policy letters, and submission of comments. Recent projects have included collaboration with the G20/B20 work on mobilizing private-sector funding for infrastructure investment; principles for strengthening investor/creditor rights; commenting on the EC Green Paper on Capital Markets Union; and a response to the ECB-BoE working paper on reviving securitization markets. Current work streams include the changing environment for secondary market liquidity, global debt and changing demographics, pension reform, heightened regulatory oversight of the asset management industry; development of EM local currency bond markets; and the impact of new financial technologies on the asset management industry.  Both the infrastructure and sustainable finance working groups (see below) provide the Council with regular input and updates. 

Infrastructure Working Group 

Established in 2016 to build on sustained IIF member interest in infrastructure investment, the IIF’s Infrastructure Working Group brings together key public-private sector stakeholders, with the goal of finding and promoting practical solutions to close the infrastructure financing gap. Working closely with the IIF Council for Asset and Investment Management (CAIM), core topics for the Infrastructure Working Group include establishing infrastructure as an asset class, mobilizing private sector investment and helping galvanize public-private partnerships. In addition to major institutional investors from CAIM, the working group includes industrial companies, buy-side and sell-side financial institutions and key public sector officials. 

Market Monitoring Group (MMG) 

Launched in 2009, the MMG focuses on structural changes in financial markets, the regulatory environment, and the global economy that may be sources of potential systemic risks. The group convenes Chief Risk Officers and other senior market practitioners from banks and institutional investors as well as academics and specialized consultancies. The MMG monitors emerging vulnerabilities including those related to changes in liquidity provision and the impact of new financial technologies; mispriced assets, crowded trades and concentration risk; deterioration in business practices; and other nascent risks of concern to the industry and policymakers. The group explores ways to contain these risks and shares its views with market participants and public-sector bodies in an effort to enhance financial stability.  

The MMG meets twice per year in person, typically alongside our IIF Spring Membership Meeting and in New York in early December. Meetings are supplemented conference calls as well as regular briefing and support from IIF staff.  Particular emphasis is placed on regular communication with relevant public-sector bodies including the Financial Stability Board, the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council, the European Systemic Risk Board, the IMF, and other key policy-setting bodies and research centers.  Membership in this group is subject to co-chair approval. 

Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG)   

Recognizing the increasing relevance of sustainability to the business models of our members—as well as the growing number of policy initiatives intended to foster a more sustainable financial system—the IIF has determined that sustainable finance will be a strategic priority going forward. These terms of reference outline key objectives and deliverables for the IIF Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG).  

Objectives 

The IIF Sustainable Finance Working Group, launched in 2018, has the following overarching objectives:

• To promote capital market solutions, strategies and practices that support the scaling up of sustainable finance, including co-financing with multilaterals.
• To identify barriers to—and catalysts for—the broader mobilization of private finance, e.g. those related to regulation, the role of national authorities and multilateral initiatives.
• To promote effective climate-related financial disclosures across jurisdictions, notably through support for implementation of the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and addressing data gaps.
• To contribute to efforts to scale up sustainable investment and mainstream impact investment, including around taxonomy, rationalizing sustainable investment terminology and market infrastructure (e.g. a broader range of instruments including derivatives, appropriate benchmarks, impact-labeled funds, ratings).

With over 150 members to date including banks, investors, service firms and non-financial corporates, the IIF Sustainable Finance Working Group will work closely with official sector collaborators including the G20/B20, the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), the IMF, World Bank/IFC and other multilaterals, national authorities and the regulatory/supervisor community to engage public and private sectors in dialogue around sustainable finance issues.

Governance and Subgroups

SFWG Chair:

• Daniel Klier, Chief of Staff Global Banking & Markets and Global Head of Sustainable Finance, HSBC

SFWG Vice-Chair:

• Judson Berkey, Managing Director and Group Head of Sustainability Regulatory Strategy, UBS 

SFWG Steering Committee:

• Matt Christensen, Global Head of Responsible Investment, AXA IM
• Ed Wells, Head of Group Policy, Sustainable Finance and Investment, HSBC
• Val Smith, Chief Sustainability Officer, Citi

The IIF Secretariat is led by Sonja Gibbs, Managing Director and Head of Sustainable Finance, Global Policy Initiatives, in coordination with Andres Portilla, Managing Director, Regulatory Affairs.

Committee on Sovereign Risk Management (CSRM) 

The CSRM, composed of senior executives from IIF member firms, was established in 2001 to guide the Institute’s policy work on critical issues related to the prevention of financial crises. The CSRM undertakes broad-based efforts to advance policy issues in economies confronting challenges related to debt management; with a focus on sovereign debt crisis prevention and resolution as well as dealing with debt crises should they occur. The Committee has played an important role in the establishment of the Principles for Stable Capital Flows and Fair Debt Restructuring as well as the ongoing development of the voluntary contractual approach to sovereign debt restructuring. 

Debt Transparency Working Group (DTWG) 

In response to strong demand from our members and a range of private/public sector collaborators to support efforts to promote better disclosure in sovereign debt markets, the IIF has launched a Debt Transparency Working Group (DTWG) and welcomes new members. This group is tasked with creating a set of voluntary Principles for Debt Transparency—applicable universally but especially in emerging and developing countries, an idea consistent with the G20-endorsed Principles for Stable Capital Flows and Fair Debt Restructuring.  Currently, DTWG members represent over 20 IIF member firms, including banks, insurers and asset managers.  Additional outreach to IIF member firms and emerging market debt management offices (as observers) is underway; the group also has regular outreach to civil society organizations (CSOs).  

The primary mandate of the Debt Transparency Initiative is to find ways to improve disclosure and make comprehensive debt data more accessible. Greater transparency has many benefits including improved credit assessment and decision making by lenders, better debt management by EM borrowers (including better access to funding and lower borrowing costs), and support for debt sustainability.  Towards this end, the DTWG is currently developing a voluntary set of principles to promote transparency in sovereign debt markets. Although aligned with the framework of the existing Principles for Stable Capital Flows and Fair Debt Restructuring, the voluntary Principles for Debt Transparency will be a separately conceived initiative with its own integrity. A progress report on the initiative will be presented to the Group of Trustees in October 2018 for their consideration and support.  The G20 has expressed support for IIF’s work on the Voluntary Principles for Debt Transparency in the Communiqué of the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Fukuoka in June 8-9, 2019.  In the next year, the DTWG will be working on operationalizing the Voluntary Debt Transparency Principles, including finding an appropriate data repository to house the disclosed information.

The two groups below are not Committees of the Institute; however, the IIF’s Global Policy Initiatives Department acts as their Secretariat: 

Group of Trustees of the Principles for Stable Capital Flows and Fair Debt Restructuring  

The Principles were conceived in the aftermath of the sovereign debt crises in Asia, Russia and Latin America. They constitute a voluntary code of conduct between sovereign debt issuers and their private sector creditors that was agreed in 2004 and endorsed by the G20 Ministerial Meeting in Berlin that same year. The Principles incorporate voluntary, market based, flexible guidelines for the behavior of sovereign debtors and private creditors to promote and maintain stable capital flows as well as support financial stability and sustainable growth.

The Group of Trustees is the guardian of the Principles for Stable Capital Flows and Fair Debt Restructuring and it oversees the work of the Principles Consultative Group (PCG). It consists of current and former leaders in global finance with exceptional experience and credibility. The Group currently has three co-chairs: Governor François Villeroy de Galhau of the Banque de France; Dr. Axel Weber, Chairman of UBS AG and former President of the Bundesbank; and Governor Yi Gang of the People’s Bank of China.

The Group of Trustees meets once a year to review progress on implementation of the Principles within the framework of the international financial architecture and to review the implementation of the Principles as provided for in the Annual Report on the Implementation of the Principles. The Group’s mandate includes:

• Reviewing the evolution of the international financial system as it relates to emerging markets and other major debtor countries;
• Reviewing the development of the Principles, including their implementation; and
• Making proposals for modification of the Principles, if needed.

Principles Consultative Group (PCG) 

Principles Consultative Group (PCG) is tasked with monitoring and encouraging the practical application of the Principles for Stable Capital Flows and Fair Debt Restructuring. The group’s membership includes finance ministry and central bank officials as well as senior representatives of the private financial community.  Many of the PCG’s members were instrumental in the formulation of the Principles.  Regular PCG conference calls provide an opportunity to discuss implementation issues, country cases, and implications of developments in global capital markets.  The PCG welcomes a number of regular observers, including representatives of the IMF and World Bank/IFC staff, the IADB, the EBRD, the BIS, the ECB and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. 

IIF Digital Finance Regulation Working Group 

The Digital Finance Regulation Working Group guides and oversees the IIF’s advocacy on digital and innovation regulatory and policy issues. Its scope includes topics related to data (including data-sharing, data-protection and data-localization), new entrants and competition, ‘RiskTech’ (adoption of innovations to improve risk management, including RegTech), crypto-currencies and distributed ledger technology and cyber-security. Where this working group focuses on the strategic agenda, it is in some cases supported by other technical working groups. Membership of this working group is open to banks, insurers and asset managers. 

IIF Cybersecurity Working Group 

The IIF Cybersecurity Working Group brings together IT, security and regulatory experts to exchange information and develop positions around cybersecurity issues impacting the financial services industry. The working group is focused on the potential impact of cyber incidents on financial stability and working closely with standard setters to promote more coordinated and consistent regulatory approaches to address the growing regulatory fragmentation that can be found across jurisdictions and across (financial) sectors. There is additional work being undertaken in areas such as Cyber Risk Insurance and Third PartyVendor risk related to cybersecurity, including operational risks related to Cloud Computing.  

IIF Regtech Working Group 

The Regtech Working Group was established to generate knowledge and build a network in the field of regtech. Regtech is defined as the use of new technologies to solve regulatory and compliance requirements more effectively and efficiently. The Group analyzes the main regulatory and reporting needs that could be addressed with better technological solutions, generate more activity and investment in regtech, develop how-to guidance and sound practices to enable firms to better implement new solutions, and inform regulators of the capabilities of new technologies to transform regulatory compliance.  Learn More

IIF Future Leaders Group 

The IIF Future Leaders Group is comprised of dynamic young leaders representing some of the brightest emerging talent in the industry. Each annual class of Future Leaders meets twice a year, generally around major IIF meetings, for a specialized and timely program.  Participation in Future Leaders is open to those 40 or under who have track records of achievement within their institutions, demonstrated leadership potential and the potential to become a leader in global finance. Participation is by invitation only and participants are nominated by a member firm’s senior management. 

Emerging Markets Advisory Council (EMAC) 

Established in 2008, the Emerging Markets Advisory Council (EMAC) serves as a forum for enhancing the voice of emerging markets institutions, through the IIF, on the reform agenda for the global financial system. The Council is comprised of 38 Chief Executive Officers/Chairmen of banks headquartered in 24 emerging markets countries.Membership is by invitation only.  

The Council initiated the Emerging Markets Bank Lending Conditions Survey, now a proprietary product of the IIF, and also examines key issues with implications to emerging markets, including the post-crisis regulatory framework, the development of local currency debt markets and credit ratings of emerging market financial institutions. Regular meetings of EMAC with other IIF groups, including the Council for Asset and Investment Management and regional CEO gatherings, allow for a productive exchange of ideas. 

• EMAC Working Group on Regulatory Reform: The EMAC Working Group on Regulatory Reform comments on the implications of international regulatory proposals for emerging markets and, for example, follows the work of the Basel Committee’s emerging-markets outreach group: the International Liaison Group. 

• EMAC Working Group on Local Currency Corporate Bond Markets: The EMAC Working Group on Local Currency Corporate Bond Markets follows the development of local currency corporate bond markets across emerging markets, with a focus on the institutional and regulatory framework as well as supply and demand conditions.