AFME is the industry voice of wholesale financial institutions at European level. We advocate for deep and integrated European capital markets which serve the needs of companies and investors, supporting economic growth and benefitting society. Central to our mission is engagement with European policymakers and regulators. We have over 175 members with operations in 30 European countries, which include universal, investment and regional banks, but also other capital markets participants including law firms and rating agencies, accounting firms, and technology firms or consultancies with a strong focus on fintech. Members take part in our policy and product committees which produce 100+ consultation responses, briefing notes and reports annually.

AFME has an annual portfolio of 30 events focused on delivering high quality content on thought leadership, including key EU and UK regulatory developments and policy trends. Combined, these attract over 250 leading speakers and 5,000 delegates with events held throughout major centres including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Frankfurt, Madrid and Paris. Events range from round tables featuring leading industry figures; to targeted conferences in specialist areas such as technology/fintech and operations, sustainable finance, compliance and legal, securitisation, high yield, and government bonds, as well as country-specific events.

Superpowers

  • Help navigate the emerging EU fintech/regtech landscape
  • Advocate for innovation, technology and cybersecurity policy that can drive growth and stability in European capital markets
  • Senior Professional Network

Keywords

  • Advocacy
  • Technology and Innovation
  • European Capital Markets
  • Regulation
  • Financial Services
  • Digital Assets

Who we are

Our multilingual staff have deep market and policy expertise and operate from our offices in London, Brussels, and Frankfurt. Each of our product or policy area is advised by a committee made up of practitioners from member firms and it is these members, with the support and input of our own specialists (many of whom are themselves former market participants), that determine our positions and approach to advocacy on specific topics.

  • adam farkas
    Adam Farkas
    Chief Executive Officer
    Adam is the Chief Executive Officer of AFME and of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA). Adam has an extensive financial service experience both in the business and regulatory side. Prior to joining AFME he was Executive Director at the European Banking Authority (EBA). He also served as Executive Chairman of the Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority. Previous positions include CEO for Allianz Bank and co-CEO of CIB Bank (Intesa Sanpaolo Group), Managing Director and Member of the Board at the National Bank of Hungary.
    • European Capital Markets
    • Leadership
    • Regulation
  • James Kemp
    James Kemp
    Managing Director GFMA’s Global FX Division & AFME Technology & Operations Division
    James is Managing Director of the GFMA’s Global FX Division and AFME Technology & Operations Division. James has 20+ years’ experience in the financial industry and technology. He has previously been a business strategy consultant at The LEK Partnership; as well as UK Head of Equities and Fixed Income Products at Reuters. He was the founder and managing director of the financial markets technology consultancy, Stentra, a market leader in FX e-trading, as well as commodities, fixed income and swaps, which he sold to ION Trading.
    • Financial Services
    • Technology
    • Strategic Thinking
  • Ian Waterworth
    Ian Waterworth
    Director Technology & Operations
    Ian Waterworth is a Director in AFME’s Technology & Operations division. Ian leads the strategic role that technology plays in the provision of capital markets banking services from Operational Resilience, Cyber Security, Data, Cloud, AI and new technologies such as the
    use of Distributed Ledger Technologies for EU and UK tokenised securities market development. Prior to joining AFME, Ian worked at ABN AMRO, RBS and most recently Standard Chartered bank in various front office technology operations and change leadership roles.
    • Technology
    • Operational Resilience
    • Digital Transformation
  • Peter Tomlinson
    Peter Tomlinson
    Director Post Trade
    Pete Tomlinson is a Director in AFME’s Post Trade division, and leads the work of the Post Trade Digital Forum, which focuses on opportunities for using new technology such as DLT to transform clearing, settlement and custody processes. Prior to joining AFME, Pete worked at Deutsche Bank for seven years in various middle office roles within the Delta One business. He holds a degree in financial economics from the University of Liverpool.
    • Post Trade
    • Digital Assets
    • Regulation