Annual Report 2021
Chairman's Report
Welcome to our 2021 Annual Report, highlighting the work of our Association over the past year.
Paul Fisher, LBMA Chairman
A second year of the global pandemic created interesting challenges for all of us, but I’m happy to report that LBMA has continued to deliver its mission to advance standards and create market solutions for the common good of the global industry.
In June, the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) announced an exemption from stable funding requirements for banks clearing precious metals in London. This was the outcome of over 10 years of lobbying work by LBMA and its Members, which included the creation of an entire precious metals trade data repository. LBMA Trade Data particularly demonstrated the performance of gold during the 2020 Covid crisis, which meant that regulators were willing to reconsider its liquidity status.
We continue to campaign for High-Quality Liquid Asset status, but the PRA exemption was a very important win for the effectiveness and liquidity of the global market. The latest version of Responsible Gold Guidance went live in November 2021, following two extensive rounds of consultations with stakeholders both inside and outside the industry. Sustainability continues to dominate the agenda, with environmental issues and climate change taking centre stage. This is why we have recently issued a call for global action to adopt an industry-wide transition plan to deliver net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. LBMA is well positioned to work collectively with the wider industry to achieve this target. We look forward to collaborating with all stakeholders to drive progress on this issue in 2022.
Beyond sustainability, ownership of responsible supply chains is shared across the entire value chain. It is the role of LBMA to lead in establishing and improving standards, but we can’t do this alone. Collaboration and engagement are absolutely essential to help ensure supply chain integrity and we welcome the support of all gold trading centres, national authorities and, of course, participants in the wider precious metals market. Our International Bullion Centres Recommendations were launched in 2020 to create capacity for global action on these important issues and we have been delighted with the engagement to date.
Thank you as always for your support, and I look forward to discussing our work with you in person at our events, starting with the Sustainability Summit, 28-30 March 2022.
Paul Fisher
LBMA Chairman