ICMA will be sending a delegation to the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group, taking place in Bangkok, Thailand, from 13–18 October 2026. The Annual Meetings provide an important opportunity to engage with policymakers, regulators, issuers, and other market participants from across the global financial community. To request a meeting with the ICMA delegation during the Annual Meetings, please contact Allan Malvar.

4 June 2026 ICMA today publishes the first of a two-part report on repos that make some use of blockchain or other digital ledger technology (DLT), a subject of much discussion.Part 1 looks at the technology itself, the types of digitalised cash and assets that can be used in DLT repo, and how DLT was applied to repo between 2017 and 2025. During this period, there were 34 publicised examples of DLT repo, the bulk during 2024. Most were proofs-of-concept, experiments or simulations, rather than commercial transactions. The second part of the report will be published after the summer and will focus on how and when DLT might be widely-adopted in the repo market.Key findingsNotable commercial usage of DLT repo was on Broadridge’s DLR and JP Morgan’s Kinexys platforms. By the end of 2025 it is estimated that the total average daily turnover on these two platforms may have reached, and possibly exceeded, USD 3.7 billion per day, mainly on DLR. While there was a significant uptick in growth of DLR in the second-half of 2025, turnover in DLT repo still pales in comparison with the US repo market, which is measured in trillions. It is also noted that the two dominant commercial DLT repo platforms vary significantly in terms of the degree of digitalisation, but that they both represent “walled gardens”, serving only the existing institutional customers of the operators.While undoubtedly very successful in this role for their operators, they do not constitute a competitive DLT repo market. While efforts to achieve interoperability are being made by these and other platforms, there is a long way to go to get to a connected and competitive DLT repo market. How the evolution of the DLT repo market may pan out and what forms of digitalised assets will be exchanged in DLT repo will be the subject of the second part of the report. In particular, this will look at how DLT is being applied to the underlying settlement infrastructure upon which the repo market depends.The critical section of today’s report considers the pre-trade, trade and post-trade functions specific to repo, which DLT has already, or is likely to be, applied. It concludes that pre-trade applications will be part of general collateral management operations and trading on a central limit order book is inherently unsuitable for distributed ledgers, as is the post-trade function of central-clearing. Instead, the report looks to the application of DLT to collateral management, including margining, and to settlement, notably the use of precise timing for intra-day repo.There may (or may not) be possibilities to widen the range of collateral and participation. Accordingly, the repo defines a DLT repo as a transaction for which some post-trade processes are performed on one or more distributed ledgers and/or where OTC trading may also take place on a distributed ledger. The report has been produced by Richard Comotto, senior consultant to ICMA, with input from members of ICMA's Repo & Collateral and FinTech & Digitalisation teams. However, the views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of ICMA.

1 June 2026 ICMA has shared with the Bank of England a report laying out recommendations to enhance the resilience of the Gilt repo market. The report is based on a closed-door industry Roundtable hosted by ICMA and builds on ICMA’s response to the Bank of England’s consultation on the gilt repo market in November 2025. In particular, the report discusses the following key recommendations: Deeper supervisory understanding of leveraged investor strategies and risk management frameworks A stocktake and gap analysis of existing regulatory reporting frameworks and supervisory data aggregation capabilities More targeted and decision-useful counterparty disclosures focused on leverage, concentration, and interconnectedness Improved coordination and information-sharing between the Bank of England and FCA Measures to improve access to central clearing for gilt repo, particularly for non-bank participants Broader and more consistent collateral eligibility frameworks Maintenance and modernisation of central bank market functioning and liquidity tools Enhancements to settlement efficiency and operational resilience ICMA hopes that the report can serve as a platform for deeper industry engagement in this shared and important objective.

29 May 2026 ICMA has submitted its response to the SEC Notice of Request for Exemptive Relief under the U.S. Treasury clearing mandate, which proposes targeted refinements to the inter-affiliate exemption in a cross-border context. The proposal contains two main elements: firstly, it would broaden the types of eligible affiliates by expanding the definition of the “affiliate counterparty” to include all affiliates under common control, excluding investment funds; and secondly, it would revise the outward facing condition by introducing a 10% activity-based threshold. In its response, ICMA supports the proposed expansion of the definition of “affiliate”. However, while recognising the Commission’s objective of preventing evasion of the clearing mandate, some ICMA members have raised concerns that the proposed 10 percent cap could create significant costs in terms of implementation, monitoring and governance and create operational, systems, and compliance burdens. ICMA also notes that the proposed methodology for calculating the threshold could create unintended advantages or disadvantages based on firm size, business model or organisational structure, and highlights a potential interaction with the IIB request.

27 May 2026 Members of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), the global trade association for the cross-border bond markets, have elected the following board members at the ICMA annual general meeting in London: David Gillard, Head of Sovereign and Supranational Clients, Allianz Global Investors Middle East Ltd, Abu Dhabi Derry Hubbard, Global Head of Fixed Income, Danske Bank A/S, Copenhagen Mark Lynagh, Head of Global Capital Markets EMEA & Head of Global BankingUK, BNP Paribas, London Branch, London Cristiano Maffi, Head of Global Primary Markets and Solutions, Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A., Milan Cyril Rousseau, Director General of the Finance Directorate, European Investment Bank, Luxembourg Susanne Sweys, CRO Asset Management, UBS AG, Zurich William Weaver, Vice Chair, International Debt Capital Markets, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, London View the full list of ICMA board members

20 May 2026 ICMA Education & Training and Imperial Executive Education, part of Imperial College London, have announced a strategic partnership to launch Sustainable Finance and Investing: Unlock Global Investment Strategies, a six-week online programme equipping professionals with the expertise to lead in the transition to a sustainable economy. This collaboration brings together ICMA Education & Training’s nearly five decades of experience delivering executive education for finance professionals across the international capital markets with Imperial Executive Education’s academic leadership and cutting-edge research in climate finance and investment. ICMA Education & Training equally showcases ICMA’s leading role and expertise in the sustainable bond market with the Green, Social, Sustainability and Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles. Sustainable finance is growing in dominance, and this programme provides timely, practical insights for financial professionals navigating ESG regulations, product innovation, and net-zero investment strategies. Learn more about Sustainable Finance and Investing: Unlock Global Investment Strategies and the partnership with Imperial Executive Education.Commenting on the partnership, Bryan Pascoe, CEO, ICMA, said: “This collaboration with Imperial reflects our commitment to advancing professional standards in sustainable finance. By combining ICMA’s expertise in market practices with Imperial’s world-class teaching, we are providing professionals with the knowledge and skills to drive meaningful change in global finance.” Katie Coates, Director of Executive Education Programmes, said: "‘Imperial Executive Education are delighted to be partnering with ICMA on this exciting and important programme. The combination of Imperial’s thought leadership coupled with ICMA’s deep understanding of what members need to know and do to deliver their sustainability initiatives is a truly powerful combination’." Contact details for further informationICMA Education & Training Team education@icmagroup.org  Imperial Executive Education imperial@emeritus.org

19 May 2026 An amendment to the ICMA Primary Market Handbook has been published today to include the addition of the new 'Appendix C1 Bond Data Taxonomy'. For more information, see the ICMA Primary Market Handbook - Amendments/archive page.The associated circular to members is available here for ICMA members and ICMA Primary Market Handbook subscribers only (login details required).

All European repo market participants are invited to participate in ICMA's 51st survey of the European repo market. The survey will be based on data of the repo business outstanding at close of business of Wednesday, 10 June 2026.PARTICIPATE

18 May 2026 ICMA, AFME, UK Finance and CREFCE have today responded to the FCA and PRA CPs 26/6 and 2/26 on the UK securitisation framework/requirements.The associations broadly welcome the PRA and FCA’s proposed securitisation reforms, describing them as a significant step towards a more proportionate and internationally competitive UK framework.The associations particularly support: The move to a more principles-based and simplified regime for due diligence, transparency and reporting requirements; Efforts to reduce cross-border friction and improve the usability of the UK securitisation framework post-Brexit; The introduction of “L-shaped” risk retention rules, which have been a long-standing industry request; The regulators’ willingness to review the scope and application of securitisation conduct rules. At the same time, the industry is seeking further clarification and refinements in several areas, including: Confirmation that synthetic excess spread can count towards the first-loss component of L-shaped retention in synthetic SRT securitisations; Additional guidance on proposed re-securitisation rules; Further engagement on the application of conduct rules and prudential requirements under Basel 3.1. The associations also warn that the UK should closely monitor the EU’s more growth-oriented securitisation reforms to avoid creating competitiveness and level playing field concerns for UK markets.View the Joint Associations’ response to FCA and PRA CPs 26/6 and 2/26 on the UK securitisation framework/requirementsView the Joint Associations’ feedback on FCA CP 26/6 templates

7 May 2026 The Board of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has elected Stephen Fisher, Global Head of Government and Public Affairs, Deutsche Bank AG, London, as Chair of the ICMA Board of Directors. As Global Head of Government and Public Affairs, Stephen is responsible for leading Deutsche Bank’s engagement in regulatory policy and geopolitics in key global markets. Stephen is active in several trade associations, joining the Board of ICMA in 2022. Learn more about the function of the ICMA Board and a full list of its members here.Stephen FisherStephen is the Global Head of Government and Public Affairs at Deutsche Bank, based in London. In this role Stephen is responsible for leading Deutsche Bank’s engagement in regulatory policy and geopolitics in key global markets. Stephen is active in several trade associations, joining the Board of the International Capital Market Association in 2022. Stephen has over 25 years of regulatory policy experience. He spent 13 years with BlackRock as a senior member of the Global Public Policy Group, based in Brussels and London. Prior to BlackRock, Stephen worked for several years in trade associations representing European banks and in the public sector in the UK for the then newly created Financial Services Authority (now Financial Conduct Authority) and HM Treasury. He has previously held advisory roles for regulatory bodies in the Middle East. Stephen holds Masters degrees from the University of St. Andrews and the University of London and speaks several European languages. He is married with three children, is a keen cyclist, runner and swimmer, has held various leadership positions in local politics and charitable foundations and is passionate about social mobility.

30 April 2026 ICMA is pleased to announce the publication of the Digital Bonds Annex, a further addition to the Global Master Repurchase Agreement (GMRA) suite of documentation.The Digital Bonds Annex further expands and complements the GMRA framework to include transactions involving digital bonds, reflecting ongoing innovation in capital markets.The original Digital Assets Annex, published in August 2024, provides a standardised framework and set of terms which can be used to document repo transactions involving digital cash, digital securities (including tokenised traditional securities), or asset-backed digital assets.Driven by member demand to expand coverage to provide for digital bonds, the Digital Bonds Annex has been developed by the Digital Assets Legal Working Group run by ICMA in partnership with ISLA, with Clifford Chance as legal counsel.The definition of "Digital Bond" within the Digital Bonds Annex is designed to capture natively-issued digital debt securities and makes it clear that the terms and conditions of the Digital Bond must envisage the use of distributed ledger technology.Michael Brown, partner at Clifford Chance commented "We're delighted to have assisted ICMA and ISLA with the development of the Digital Bonds Annexes. The publication of the annexes is a significant milestone for the integration of natively-issued digital bonds into established securities financing frameworks and we were delighted to support the working groups to deliver documentation that enables continued innovation in the market". Deena Seoudy, Senior Director and Associate Counsel at ICMA commented “It has been a pleasure to once again collaborate with the Digital Assets Legal Working Group, ISLA and Clifford Chance on the Digital Bonds Annex for the GMRA. By introducing more harmonised documentation and legal frameworks for SFT participants transacting in digital securities, this initiative helps drive broader adoption and underpins the continued evolution and innovation of digital assets within the repo market”. To promote ICMA members’ familiarity with the Digital Bonds Annex, ICMA will partner with Clifford Chance to run a webinar in May that will provide an overview of how the Digital Bonds Annex works and its various features, as well as an opportunity for members to ask any questions.Details of the webinar can be found here.To download the Digital Bonds Annex and accompanying guidance note, click here. To download the Digital Assets Annex and accompanying guidance note, click here.

28 April 2026 ICMA’s Secondary Market Practices Committee (SMPC) has published the Sovereign Bond edition of its semi-annual European Bond Market Data report for H2 2025. The latest report presents a full data set of sovereign bond trading activity for 2025, along with a historical data series dating back to January 1, 2022.The report will be published in two separate editions: a sovereign edition (this report), and a corporate edition (to follow).Key findingsThe data show continued strong growth in trading activity, with total trading volumes (notional value) reaching €70.7tn in 2025, of which €34.1tn was traded in H2. This represents a 39% increase in volumes versus H2 2024 and a 17% rise in trade count. We also observe a shift toward larger trade sizes.After declining from 2022, average trade sizes increased notably in 2025, reflecting stronger growth in traded volumes relative to trade count. The analysis also confirms the increasing electronification of European sovereign bond markets. 50% of volumes and 60% of transactions were executed on trading venues in 2025, with continued growth in both D2C and D2D electronic trading channels since 2022.The report also highlights the rich diversity of the European bond ecosystem. US Treasuries dominate European secondary trading, with US sovereign bonds accounting for 35% of total volumes. These are followed by Italy (22%), UK and Germany (10% each), and France (9%).This report, which follows the report published for H1 2025, provides 48 months of bond market data, covering the period January 2022 through to January 2026. ICMA believes that this latest data set provides a more accurate representation than the previous report.ICMA commits to updating this report on a semi-annual basis in order to be able to track long-term trends in secondary bond market structure and activity. ICMA also expects that in time both the depth and quality of the underlying data will improve, particularly as reports such as this seek to present a definitive picture of the European bond markets.More information about the SMPC can be found here.

27 April 2026 The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) today announces the publication of version 2.0 of its Bond Data Taxonomy (BDT), a standardised, machine-readable language for key bond terms developed by and for market practitioners. This latest release represents the most comprehensive update to the BDT to date and comes at a time of increasing market adoption across the global fixed income ecosystem, including in both traditional and DLT-based workflows. The BDT is now being integrated into a growing number of market initiatives and infrastructures, including a digital asset standards platform developed by Swift, continued adoption by issuers such as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), its application in collaborative industry initiatives such as Project Guardian’s Global Fixed Income Framework as well as digitisation of the Eurobond market involving the ICSDs. In parallel, public sector and regulatory discussions—including those within the Eurosystem’s AMI-SeCo—continue to highlight the importance of harmonised data and messaging standards in supporting post-trade integration and market efficiency. Version 2.0 reflects extensive engagement with a broad range of industry stakeholders throughout 2025. ICMA worked closely with market participants across the value chain to support implementation of the BDT in real-world workflows and to gather detailed feedback. This inclusive, market-led consultation has directly informed the enhancements introduced in this release. The updated BDT expands its coverage to support more complex issuance structures, including bonds with multiple series, classes and tranches. It also introduces greater flexibility in data fields to accommodate a wider range of transaction types, including emerging market use cases, while maintaining consistency and interoperability. Originally designed to support primary market issuance, the BDT has now demonstrated its value across the full bond lifecycle. Its application is increasingly extending into trading, settlement and distribution processes, supporting improved data consistency, automation and straight-through processing across market participants. Commenting on the launch, ICMA Chief Executive Bryan Pascoe said: “The launch of the Bond Data Taxonomy version 2.0 marks an important step forward in the market’s ability to communicate bond terms in a consistent, open and machine-readable way. The BDT is helping to reduce fragmentation, support interoperability and enable greater automation across the bond lifecycle. Its growing adoption by issuers, market infrastructures and other stakeholders demonstrates the value of common standards in making international capital markets more efficient, resilient and future-ready.” Gabriel Callsen, Senior Director in the FinTech & Digitalisation Team at ICMA added: “The continued evolution of the BDT reflects ICMA’s role in facilitating standards that are created by the market, for the market. By providing a common, open and machine-readable framework for bond data, the BDT supports both industry efforts and regulatory initiatives to enhance efficiency, reduce fragmentation and enable the adoption of new technologies, including distributed ledger-based solutions.”Version 2.0 of the Bond Data Taxonomy is available for download here.

ICMA welcomes the following new members in April 2026: Československá obchodní banka, a.s., Czech Republic Emirates Islamic Bank PJSC, United Arab Emirates Mallesons, Australia Privredna banka Zagreb d. d., Croatia Click here to view the full list of ICMA members.

22 April 2026 The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) yesterday submitted its response to the Eurosystem’s feedback questionnaire on the approach set out in the roadmap for Appia, the strategic initiative to shape the development of a European tokenised financial ecosystem (the “Appia roadmap”).ICMA’s response reflects the views of a subset of its DLT Bonds Working Group, which includes issuers, banks, investors, market infrastructures and law firms across the value chain of international debt capital markets.ICMA’s consultation response builds on ICMA’s engagement with the Eurosystem through the ECB New Technologies for Wholesale settlement Contact Group (NTW-CG), which ICMA has been a member of since its inception. Key points: ICMA members welcome the opportunity to provide feedback on the Appia roadmap. Facilitating settlement of DLT transactions in central bank money is of critical importance in order to foster the development of DLT-based capital markets and unlock the wider benefits of tokenisation, as highlighted in ICMA’s previous response to a Eurosystem questionnaire in June 2022. While ICMA members are, in principle, supportive of the proposed high-level principles governing Appia, we emphasise (i) the importance of the principle of legal certainty; (ii) international interoperability being integral to market access and integration; and (iii) suggest the inclusion of interoperability, standardisation and proportionality as additional principles. The proposed technologically neutral network layer should be built through a market-led, collaborative approach, building on existing traditional and DLT-native standards (for example, ICMA's Bond Data Taxonomy). ICMA members believe that the Eurosystem has a critical role to play as an enabler for the EU’s tokenised financial ecosystem, by issuing a wholesale CBDC, driving the adoption of standards and establishing rules for market participants. While some ICMA members note the necessity to reduce reliance on non-European providers for critical infrastructure to ensure strategic autonomy, it is equally important to acknowledge that maintaining interoperability between Appia and the global financial system is crucial to avoid fragmentation. ICMA members emphasise that any common standards, rules and practices to shape the tokenised financial ecosystem must be built on existing industry standards and initiatives. These common standards are critical to facilitate interoperability and enable scaling within the industry, both within the EU’s tokenised financial system and with third countries. Allowing multiple interoperable networks to operate under a common set of harmonised standards is generally the preferred approach from ICMA members’ perspective, instead of a single network operated by the Eurosystem. This model would support competition, reduce concentration risks, and encourage market-led innovation, while also allowing the Eurosystem to maintain safety and compatibility through a strong regulatory and standard-setting role. ICMA’s detailed response can be found here.

20 April 2026 ICMA was among the signatories to a joint letter addressed to members of the European Parliament’s ECON Committee ahead of the final stage of the Parliament establishing its position on the review of the EU Securitisation Framework.The letter calls for a proportionate and stable regulatory approach that supports the development of a more efficient, resilient and competitive EU securitisation market. In particular, it urges policymakers not to introduce a dedicated sanctioning regime under the Securitisation Regulation, noting that investors in securitisations are already subject to sanctions under existing sectoral and national legislation.The letter further cautions that additional and duplicative sanctions could deter existing and prospective investors, thereby undermining efforts to broaden the investor base. It also raises concerns that linking sanctions to the size of exposures could produce unintended and counterproductive outcomes, particularly for holders of the safest senior tranches which by definition represent the largest notional exposures.More broadly, the signatories call for meaningful reforms that reinforce investor confidence and enable securitisation to better support financing for households, businesses and the wider European economy.

14 April 2026 Today ICMA announces the publication of the 2026 GMRA legal opinion updates. The opinions provide ICMA members with exclusive access to a substantive body of legal know-how regarding the enforceability of the GMRA and, in particular, the GMRA netting provisions.The 2026 opinions will introduce Peru as a new jurisdiction (publication to follow shortly), increasing the netting coverage to 75 jurisdictions. Coverage of the Digital Assets Annex has also been expanded and now extends to eight jurisdictions. In addition to last year’s coverage of Belgium, England, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland, the 2026 opinions now include Hong Kong and the USA. All opinions cover at a minimum; companies, banks and securities dealers, most jurisdictions also cover insurance companies, hedge funds, mutual funds and pension funds (where generic coverage is possible) as parties to the GMRA. In response to strong member demand, counterparty coverage has been expanded across 14 jurisdictions, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Regulators require repo transactions to be subject to agreements like the GMRA, supported by regularly updated legal opinions, in order to reduce regulatory capital requirements through close-out netting. ICMA legal opinions enable members to realise these significant regulatory capital benefits.ICMA offers members* a business-critical service through the provision of these annually updated legal opinions.Full list of jurisdictions covered by the legal opinions*Full access to the ICMA GMRA legal opinions is not provided to non-subscribing tier 3 and associate members. Official institution members are exempt from the subscription service. For more information and to subscribe, see here. 

14 April 2026 The latest edition of the ICMA Quarterly Report is now available.To access the report, click here.

10 April 2026 ICMA has submitted its response to the SEC Notice of Request for Exemptive Relief concerning the extraterritorial scope of the U.S. Treasury clearing mandate. The Notice seeks feedback on whether certain offshore transactions in U.S. Treasury between non-U.S. counterparties should be exempt from the Trade Submission Requirement. In its response, ICMA supports the proposed relief in principle, noting that it would help address unintended extraterritorial effects and reduce legal uncertainty, operational complexity, and compliance burdens for international market participants. ICMA also acknowledges concerns raised by some market participants regarding potential level playing field implications, particularly in relation to the treatment of non-U.S. branches and subsidiaries of U.S. firms. The response notes that further consideration may be warranted in this area and suggests that the SEC may consider appropriate mitigants, alongside monitoring the use of the exemption.

9 April 2026 The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) remains steadfast in its commitment to members across the Middle East, North Africa, and Türkiye (MENAT) region and to the continued development of the region’s capital markets.Against a challenging geopolitical backdrop, we have been encouraged by the resilience shown by capital markets across the region. Market participants have continued to demonstrate professionalism, discipline and a strong commitment to orderly market functioning. The continued fulfilment of obligations by issuers, together with the overall stability of the market, reflects the depth, growing sophistication and underlying strength of MENAT capital markets.Mohamed Sharaf, Chair of ICMA’s MENAT regional committee, said: “The capital markets across the MENAT region have continued to demonstrate stability and resilience despite a difficult external environment. This reflects the strength, diversification and increasing maturity of the region’s markets, as well as the professionalism and commitment of issuers and market participants.”Bryan Pascoe, Chief Executive of ICMA, said: “ICMA remains firmly committed to its members in the MENAT region and to supporting the continued development of the region’s capital markets. In a difficult geopolitical environment, we have been encouraged by the resilience shown across the market and look forward to the return of more stable and normalised conditions in due course.”ICMA greatly values its engagement with members and market stakeholders across the region and remains focused on supporting their priorities and the further development of efficient, resilient and internationally connected capital markets.