The Anglo-Dutch Financial Services Dialogue (ADFSD) met on Thursday 11 May 2023 at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in London.
Co-Chair Christophe Roupie welcomed new Dutch Co-Chair, Mary Pieterse-Bloem, Head of Investment Office (in Wealth Management), Rabobank International, replaces Richard Kirby, who has been the Dutch Co-Chair of the Dialogue since its inception in 2017.
The agenda focussed on sustainability and had three agenda items looking at the issue from the respective perspectives of issuers, investors and policymakers.
Camiel van Steekelenburg - Partner, Head Financial Services and Banking, KPMG Netherlands, joined by video link from the Netherlands to present to the group on sustainability from the perspective of issuers.
David Sol, Global Head of Index Policy, FTSE Russell presented to the group ahead of a discussion on sustainability from the perspective of investors. The discussion covered the differing perspectives the various stakeholders such as asset managers, asset owners, brokers, central banks, regulators, ratings agencies, and index providers.
Sarah Kemmitt, Lead Secretariat, Net-Zero Banking Alliance; United Nations Environment – Finance Initiative, led a discussion on sustainability from the perspective of policy makers. The discussion noted that there is a current focus on near term action, identifying priority industries and decarbonising.
The next meeting of the Dialogue will take place in the Hague on Tuesday 21 October and the UK Ambassador to the Netherlands will be hosting a dinner at her residence following the dialogue.