International Securities Lending Association
The International Securities Lending Association (ISLA) is an independent trade association established in 1989 to represent the interests of the securities lending industry. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, the primary goal of ISLA is stated as being to assist in the orderly, efficient and competitive development of the international securities lending market.
ISLA works closely with international regulators of securities markets and maintains representation on the Stock Lending and Repo Committee, a panel of market practitioners chaired by the Bank of England. One of ISLA's major initiatives has been to promote the adoption of industry-wide standards by way of uniform lending agreements, notably the Overseas Securities Lending Agreement (OSLA) and the Global Master Securities Lending Agreement (GMSLA).
ISLA has over 100 members representing more than 4,000 clients comprising insurance companies, pension funds, asset managers, banks and custodians. The predominance of ISLA's membership is located in the United Kingdom or Europe, although there is growing membership from industry participants in the United States and the Far East. Non-borrowing members have been permitted to join ISLA since September 2004.
The current chairman of ISLA is Richard P. Thompson of Northern Trust.