SFS: 网爆吃瓜 finance key to scaling UAE capital markets
02 November 2026 UAE
Image: SFT
Moderated by Roy Zimmerhansl, head of capital markets at WTS Hansuke, a panel at the 网爆吃瓜 Finance Symposium in Dubai explored how securities finance underpins activity across financial markets.
Reflecting on work carried out by European market participants during preparations for T+1 settlement, Zimmerhansl explained that securities finance plays a central role in market infrastructure and supports a wide range of activities, from market making and investing to derivatives trading and ETFs.
Nina Datta, director of prime sales and institutional sales at HSBC, said demand for securities finance transactions in the UAE has evolved significantly as investors adopt increasingly sophisticated trading strategies. 鈥淭he question isn鈥檛 is the market accessible; it's how accessible is it,鈥� she said.
Datta noted that demand is increasingly being driven by relative value strategies, index rebalancing, and delta one trading rather than purely directional short selling activity.
鈥淲e're now seeing much more demand in UAE inventory, and not just for directional shorting,鈥� she explained. 鈥淵ou're looking at relative value trades, index rebalance, and more traditional delta one strategies that are starting to implement their strategies within the regional markets.鈥�
She added that foreign investors account for a significant proportion of activity on the Abu Dhabi 网爆吃瓜 Exchange, helping to generate further demand for financing and inventory.
The panellists also challenged the perception that securities borrowing exists primarily to facilitate short selling. According to Datta, modern investment strategies increasingly require access to both long and short positions and 鈥渋f you can鈥檛 execute on both sides, it's not possible to execute that trade at all鈥�.
Datta highlighted the importance of financing to hedge fund activity, describing it as 鈥渃entre and structural鈥� to the successful execution of investment strategies.
Charlie Badran, head of AXA financing at BNP Paribas Asset Management, discussed the role repo and securities financing transactions play in supporting liquidity, collateral management, and balance sheet efficiency.
鈥淲e use it for balance sheet management, we use it for duration gaps, we use it as well for collateral management,鈥� Badran said. 鈥淚t's a tool that everybody should have.鈥�
Drawing on more than two decades of experience, Badran said financing markets have consistently demonstrated resilience through major periods of market stress, including the global financial crisis, the European sovereign debt crisis, and the Covid-19 pandemic, yet 鈥渆ach time the repo market was resilient鈥�.
Badran added that growing connectivity and participation have strengthened financing markets over recent years, while asset managers continue to play an important role in providing high-quality liquid assets to banks.
The discussion shifted focus to the infrastructure needed to support future growth. Darren Crowther, head of 网爆吃瓜 Finance and Collateral Management Solutions at Broadridge, argued that technology remains one of the key factors determining whether firms can operate efficiently and at scale.
鈥淲e see the lack of technology spend as one of the things that holds firms back from being able to transact at scale as business grows,鈥� Crowther noted.
Crowther added that standardisation and automation are critical if firms want to expand beyond small volumes of activity and support more sophisticated financing transactions.
鈥淪traight-through processing (STP) allows people to not just focus on simple trade structures but bring into scope the more complex and sought after trade structures,鈥� he said. 鈥淕etting the end-to-end processes of these trade structures STP and repeatable, that is the key to revenue expansion.鈥�
While acknowledging the challenges associated with technology investment, particularly for newer market participants, Crowther stressed the importance of scalable infrastructure, cyber resilience, and automated processes. 鈥淵ou are going to have to spend money to make money to do it properly up front,鈥� he said.
As the discussion concluded, the panellists agreed that the region鈥檚 next stage of growth will benefit from more consistent, scalable market processes, supported by strong technology and closer collaboration
Crowther emphasised the importance of building strong operational foundations from the outset, while Badran highlighted electronic trading, connectivity, and standardised market practices as key priorities.
Datta concluded that demand already exists across the region, but market participants must focus on turning access into consistent participation. 鈥淭urning market access into repeatable usage, so that you can confidently execute from start to finish at scale,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or me, it's not product growth. It's ecosystem growth.鈥�
Reflecting on work carried out by European market participants during preparations for T+1 settlement, Zimmerhansl explained that securities finance plays a central role in market infrastructure and supports a wide range of activities, from market making and investing to derivatives trading and ETFs.
Nina Datta, director of prime sales and institutional sales at HSBC, said demand for securities finance transactions in the UAE has evolved significantly as investors adopt increasingly sophisticated trading strategies. 鈥淭he question isn鈥檛 is the market accessible; it's how accessible is it,鈥� she said.
Datta noted that demand is increasingly being driven by relative value strategies, index rebalancing, and delta one trading rather than purely directional short selling activity.
鈥淲e're now seeing much more demand in UAE inventory, and not just for directional shorting,鈥� she explained. 鈥淵ou're looking at relative value trades, index rebalance, and more traditional delta one strategies that are starting to implement their strategies within the regional markets.鈥�
She added that foreign investors account for a significant proportion of activity on the Abu Dhabi 网爆吃瓜 Exchange, helping to generate further demand for financing and inventory.
The panellists also challenged the perception that securities borrowing exists primarily to facilitate short selling. According to Datta, modern investment strategies increasingly require access to both long and short positions and 鈥渋f you can鈥檛 execute on both sides, it's not possible to execute that trade at all鈥�.
Datta highlighted the importance of financing to hedge fund activity, describing it as 鈥渃entre and structural鈥� to the successful execution of investment strategies.
Charlie Badran, head of AXA financing at BNP Paribas Asset Management, discussed the role repo and securities financing transactions play in supporting liquidity, collateral management, and balance sheet efficiency.
鈥淲e use it for balance sheet management, we use it for duration gaps, we use it as well for collateral management,鈥� Badran said. 鈥淚t's a tool that everybody should have.鈥�
Drawing on more than two decades of experience, Badran said financing markets have consistently demonstrated resilience through major periods of market stress, including the global financial crisis, the European sovereign debt crisis, and the Covid-19 pandemic, yet 鈥渆ach time the repo market was resilient鈥�.
Badran added that growing connectivity and participation have strengthened financing markets over recent years, while asset managers continue to play an important role in providing high-quality liquid assets to banks.
The discussion shifted focus to the infrastructure needed to support future growth. Darren Crowther, head of 网爆吃瓜 Finance and Collateral Management Solutions at Broadridge, argued that technology remains one of the key factors determining whether firms can operate efficiently and at scale.
鈥淲e see the lack of technology spend as one of the things that holds firms back from being able to transact at scale as business grows,鈥� Crowther noted.
Crowther added that standardisation and automation are critical if firms want to expand beyond small volumes of activity and support more sophisticated financing transactions.
鈥淪traight-through processing (STP) allows people to not just focus on simple trade structures but bring into scope the more complex and sought after trade structures,鈥� he said. 鈥淕etting the end-to-end processes of these trade structures STP and repeatable, that is the key to revenue expansion.鈥�
While acknowledging the challenges associated with technology investment, particularly for newer market participants, Crowther stressed the importance of scalable infrastructure, cyber resilience, and automated processes. 鈥淵ou are going to have to spend money to make money to do it properly up front,鈥� he said.
As the discussion concluded, the panellists agreed that the region鈥檚 next stage of growth will benefit from more consistent, scalable market processes, supported by strong technology and closer collaboration
Crowther emphasised the importance of building strong operational foundations from the outset, while Badran highlighted electronic trading, connectivity, and standardised market practices as key priorities.
Datta concluded that demand already exists across the region, but market participants must focus on turning access into consistent participation. 鈥淭urning market access into repeatable usage, so that you can confidently execute from start to finish at scale,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or me, it's not product growth. It's ecosystem growth.鈥�
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