by Michel Klompmaker
Last week from October 10 to October 13, the RAI Congress Center was all about SIBOS. It started with the official opening by Queen Maxima, who appeared on stage just in time to dutifully read her story from the paper. She spoke in her capacity as “United Nations Secretary-General’s Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA)”. Her presentation was preceded by that of Swift chairman Yawar Shah, who was of course very content with the fact that SIBOS was able to be held live again after three years. During the plenary opening, CEO Javier Pérez-Tasso also spoke about the challenges of the sector. Mairead McGuiness, EU Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets spoke to us via video link. Those were strange days because somehow there was a kind of weird atmosphere and menace over the market. Not in the sense of a sudden fall in the stock markets, but rather the threat of a nuclear conflict on European soil after the attack on the Russian bridge towards Crimea. The same thoughts came back to me from September 2008, during SIBOS in Vienna, when it was announced that Lehman Brothers had fallen over…
For those who have not experienced the SIBOS 2008 edition live, I will just briefly explain the situation, as I still remember it like it was yesterday. At the time of the announcement, there was a kind of general disbelief, like how is this possible now? But by the next day it was made clear to everyone, the snowball started to roll and one financial institution after another was hit hard. The top bankers paced back and forth nervously, the smoking areas were remarkably well occupied and the taxis to Vienna airport were working overtime. There we stood, watching the hostesses hired who, with their best intentions, were waiting to entertain the bankers on a real Viennese evening…
So, what is the parallel with last weeks’ SIBOS in Amsterdam? Well, first of all, Russian financial institutions can no longer use international payments via Swift. As is known, SIBOS is organised by Swift. And then there is the power factor, that dictator from Moscow, Putin. Do you know what goes on in his head shortly after his seventieth birthday? Speaking of global risks…
Then a little further east, we have the one Xi Jinping, who this week may have his way with the Communist Party’s blessing for the next few years. Keeping in mind the important year 2049, because then it will be exactly 100 years ago that Mao Tse Tung came to power. The goal is clear and fixed. In that famous year 2049 , it will be a big party because China will dominate the world economically, militarily and also politically. Too bad for Taiwan. The question does remain though: who will be invited and who will stay away?…
Not only Russia and China, but also the inhabitants of all those states that maintain close ties with these evil governments, whether forced or not, will feel the hard hand (and whip) of these dictatorial regimes. Not something to really cheer about.
The next SIBOS is scheduled to take place in Toronto, Canada from September 18-21, 2023.
P.S. There were of course quite a few interesting novelties on SIBOS, and they will be published on our platform soon. There were 191 exhibitors at SIBOS 2022 and despite the uncertain times, there was virtually nothing to notice on the stands.
