The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) and UK Finance have stated their support for HM Treasury’s Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) project.
Responding to HM Treasury’s consultation, they stated that PISCES is “an important addition to the market framework” which will help to strengthen and deepen UK capital markets while meeting the needs of all market participants.
Members of the organisations have suggested that initial tests of the system take place in a sandbox environment, and advise that parameters for the form and content of PISCES disclosure requirements should be established from the outset. Clear expression of the overall positioning of the system before granular rules are imposed will help to create an attractive and proportionate system, they added.
Their response also stated that it is “critical” for companies and their stakeholders to have flexibility around auction structure, pricing parameters, settlement procedures, disclosure, confidentiality of disclosures and intermediation.
The Treasury and the organisations agree that general retail investors should not be granted access as purchasers upon the system’s launch.
Gary Simmons, managing director of high yield and equity markets at AFME, said: “We have seen this market grow substantially in recent years and we welcome the recognition of its growing role in the capital markets ecosystem and desire to support the needs of private companies.”
Julie Shacklady, director of primary markets and corporate finance at UK Finance, added: “Private capital markets are a vital component of the ecosystem, and we support any innovation which gives privately held companies greater access to investment and helps them transition towards the public markets. HM Treasury’s proposals for PISCES are an ambitious blueprint in this regard and we look forward to working together to ensure PISCES supports companies and investors alike.”
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