International Securities Lending Association
Encyclopedia
Industry trade group
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry...
established in 1989 to represent the interests of the securities lending
Securities lending
In finance, securities lending or stock lending refers to the lending of securities by one party to another. The terms of the loan will be governed by a "Securities Lending Agreement", which requires that the borrower provides the lender with collateral, in the form of cash, government securities,...
industry. Headquartered in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the primary goal of ISLA is stated as being to assist in the orderly, efficient and competitive development of the international securities lending market.
ISLA works closely with international regulators of securities markets and maintains representation on the Stock Lending and Repo Committee, a panel of market practitioners chaired by the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
. One of ISLA's major initiatives has been to promote the adoption of industry-wide standards by way of uniform lending agreements, notably the Overseas Securities Lending Agreement (OSLA) and the Global Master Securities Lending Agreement (GMSLA).
ISLA has over 100 members representing more than 4,000 clients comprising insurance companies, pension funds, asset managers, banks and custodians. The predominance of ISLA's membership is located in the United Kingdom or Europe, although there is growing membership from industry participants in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Far East
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
. Non-borrowing members have been permitted to join ISLA since September 2004.
The current chairman of ISLA is Richard P. Thompson of Northern Trust.