The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), the sell-side industry body, has appointed Gerry Cross as managing director, advocacy. Cross will head AFME's newly opened Brussels office where he will be based from June.
Cross is currently deputy director in the regulatory affairs fepartment in Washington for the Institute of International Finance, a financial services trade association, where he has been central to the Institute's advocacy on systemic risk, financial firms resolution, and market infrastructure issues. Prior to that he was director of group credit policy at Fortis Group and spent eight years in policy functions at the UK regulator the Financial Services Authority, during which time he was seconded to the European Commission (EC) for an extended period as coordinator of the Capital Requirements Directive for banks and investment firms.
In his new role, Cross will be responsible for AFME's day-to-day representation with European authorities and will act as a bridge between AFME's business and policy divisions, which provide technical expertise, and the various stakeholder groups.
Simon Lewis, AFME's chief executive, said, “As our principal representative in Brussels, Gerry will play a key role in our advocacy work, at a time when so much rule-making affecting our industry is now being made in Europe.”
The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union are currently examining EC proposals for the European market infrastructure regulation, with a view to it becoming law before the end of June. In the same month, the EC is expected to release a draft of MiFID II regulation.
Buy-side heads of trading made their own concerns felt in Brussels on 9 March in a meeting with EC representatives.