Virginie Saade

As the UK and EU pursue parallel reforms to strengthen their markets, regulators are focused on revitalising investment and restoring confidence in public markets as engines of growth. In this keynote interview, senior representatives from the FCA and AFM will share their perspectives on how policy can channel savings into productive investment, support SME financing, and make local markets more attractive for issuers and investors.

The conversation will contrast the UK’s drive to modernise listings and secondary market rules with Europe’s Savings and Investment Union (SIU) agenda- aimed at deepening retail and institutional participation. Together, they will explore how both initiatives can boost investment, attract capital, and re-establish Europe and the UK as vibrant destinations for growth.

Hidden liquidity and fragmented visibility continue to frustrate European equity traders and investors. The proposed consolidated tape offers a route to greater transparency- but its true value could be in boosting Europe’s appeal as a place to trade and raise capital. Positioned within the European Commission’s market structure reforms and the Saving & Investment Union agenda, the tape could help fine-tune strategies, improve price discovery, and attract both issuers and investors. This session examines the tool- and the strategy beyond it. How should the tape be designed to serve both regulatory oversight and commercial edge? What other policy shifts are needed to ensure Europe doesn’t just match global peers, but becomes a market of choice? And, with the landscape likely to change over the next 3–10 years, how can market participants use the tape to navigate- and benefit from- that transformation?