This workshop is organised by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the International Securities Lending Association (ISLA). It analyses how repo and securities lending transactions operate within the framework provided by the Global Master Repurchase Agreement (GMRA) and the Global Master Securities Lending Agreement (GMSLA), and highlights the issues that need to be addressed by users. These two separate but increasingly overlapping master agreements are the essential underpinnings of the cross-border repo and securities lending markets.

In order to provide a clear practical context to documentation and underlying issues, the workshop starts with a rigorous introduction to the fundamental legal and operational characteristics of repo and securities lending instruments, transactional uses and markets. The main body of the workshop is a detailed review and comparison of both legal agreements and how they structure risk and operational management. The workshop also examines the role of and special issues posed by key market infrastructures such as electronic trading venues, triparty collateral management and central clearing through CCPs, as well as the impact of accounting and tax treatments, and new regulation.

The workshop uses the GMRA and GMSLA as a framework to provide a structured approach to understanding instruments, usage and markets. No legal expertise is required. The workshop can therefore be useful, not just for legal and documentation staff, but also for front office, risk management, operational, compliance, audit and regulatory personnel.

The workshop is introduced and co-ordinated by Richard Comotto, who is the author of ICMA’s European repo survey, its Guide to Best Practice in the European Repo Market and its Repo FAQs. Other speakers are legal and documentation professionals, and operational specialists from ICMA, ISLA, Ashurst LLP, HSBC, LCH Limited and Euroclear.