20 November The Asset Management and Investors Council (AMIC) of ICMA welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback to the European Commission's consultation on Assessing the adequacy of macroprudential policies for Non-Bank Financial Intermediation (NBFI). This paper represents an ICMA–wide consultation response, led by the Asset Management and Investors Council (AMIC) Committee and incorporates feedback from the broader ICMA membership.The objective of the consultation was to seek a view on the adequacy of the macroprudential framework for NBFI; to identify the vulnerabilities and risks of NBFIs; and map the existing macroprudential framework. An additional aim was to gather feedback on the current challenges to macroprudential supervision to find areas for further improvement.In conclusion, we believe a uniform, one-size fits all macroprudential framework is unsuitable for the diverse NBFI ecosystem. The focus should be on enhancing regulatory cooperation, data sharing, and targeted interventions to support NBFIs’ liquidity and funding roles while addressing systemic risks without stifling economic growth. Such an approach will ensure the EU remains competitive and robust in the evolving financial landscape.ICMA is grateful for the input from stakeholders, and we present a summary of our key findings below.To read the full consultation click here.Key vulnerabilities and risks stemming from NBFI• Diverse Landscape: The NBFI ecosystem's heterogeneity precludes a one-size-fits-all macroprudential framework akin to that of banks.• Systemic Liquidity Risks: leveraging existing surveillance tools should facilitate the visibility of less known and less monitored NBFI entities and activities.• Central Clearing Concerns: Current margin requirements (cash-only collateral) exacerbate procyclicality during stress periods. Expanding eligible collateral to include high-quality securities (e.g., MMFs and government bonds) could mitigate these effects.• Role in Bond Markets and Private Lending: Hedge funds and private credit providers play vital roles in bond market liquidity and SME-focused funding.Overview of existing macroprudential tools and supervisory architecture in EU legislation• Robust Regulation: EU regulations governing asset managers, investment funds, and money market funds (MMFs) are stringent and have been recently enhanced at both EU and global levels.• Corporate Paper (CP) Markets: Greater standardization and transparency could deepen market participation but must avoid unintended consequences, such as misinterpretations of issuer strategies or financial health.Excessive leverage• Excessive Leverage: Existing leverage caps within the highly regulated NBFI sectors are sufficient. System-wide cross border systemic counterparty risk monitoring would enhance the surveillance of NBFIs that not currently in scope of EU regulation.• Bank-NBFI Links: Focus should remain on improved data sharing to monitor and mitigate interconnected risks effectively.Monitoring interconnectedness• Enhanced Coordination: Instead of new mechanisms, leveraging existing coordination tools and improving data sharing between NCAs, ESAs, and central banks is key. A single regulatory reporting hub would enhance transparency and policy response capabilities.• Consistent Supervision: Supervision should be consistent across all management companies, irrespective of size, as size alone is not a suitable risk metric.Supervisory coordination and consistency at EU level• Data Utilization: Leverage existing data (e.g., EMIR reporting) for systemic risk monitoring, limiting additional reporting burdens on asset managers, investment funds and banks.• Facilitate Liquidity Provider Roles: Policies must support NBFIs’ critical roles as liquidity providers, avoiding unnecessary regulatory burdens.• Global Coordination: Recognize the global nature of financial markets and collaborate internationally to address risks posed by non-EU domiciled entities.

12 November 2024 ICMA’s European Repo and Collateral Council (ERCC) has today released the results of its 47th semi-annual survey of the European repo market.The survey measured and analysed the value of outstanding repo plus reverse repo on the books of 61 participants at close of business on 12 June 2024. Given that the ICMA surveys a sample of the European repo market, the headline number must be taken as the minimum size of the European market.Download the 47th ICMA ERCC European Repo Market SurveyThe size of the survey grew 7.1% year-on-year to a record EUR 11,114 billion. Growth was faster than in the previous survey but the trend is still one of deceleration.This is more apparent after adjusting for changes in the composition of the survey sample, which lowered growth rates to +1.7% since December and +4.9% year-on-year.Summary of key findings: In the latest survey, the net reverse repo position of the survey sample remained large but continued to recede, possibly in response to the increased supply of securities resulting from QT and heavy issuance. The easier supply of cash, as central banks unwound their asset purchases and closed other facilities, was also reflected in the recovery of cash-driven repo, including tri-party repo. The reduced need to borrow specific securities may also account for further contraction in the share of automatic trading systems (ATS). A smaller share for trading on ATS was reflected in a smaller share for CCP-clearing (the two being intimately linked). In contrast, automated trading platforms supporting dealer-to-customer repo continued to show strong growth, largely on the back of hedge fund business. The share of the US dollar continued to grow, reflecting swings in market expectations about interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve but also high yields and record issuance of Treasuries. The share of US Treasuries also continued to grow. On the other hand, French and German government securities lost ground in response to heavy issuance and political uncertainty. In tri-party repo, as the impact of TLTRO financing waned, reducing the share of covered bonds but reviving the allocation of government bonds. Securities issued by EU institutions accounted for almost 7% of tri-party repo. Haircuts were relaxed across the board, with the exception of MBS. The growth in the share of floating-rate repo continued in the first-half of 2024, notwithstanding a change in direction of monetary policy by many central banks. Maturity transformation by the survey sample intensified in the first-half of 2024. A surge in the share of gross positions with one day remaining to maturity shifted the entire net repo position of the survey sample into the one-day residual maturity band. Repos that were sponsored, otherwise guaranteed or indemnified by the survey sample accounted for the equivalent of 4.7% of the survey but this is undoubtedly an underestimate.

12 November 2024 The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) is pleased to announce Ralph Ockert, Head of Syndicate, DZ BANK AG in Frankfurt am Main, as the new chair of the association’s German regional committee, which represents the interests of 40 ICMA member firms in Germany.Ralph takes up the role of chair from Joachim Heppe, who has recently retired from Commerzbank AG. Jo, formerly Managing Director of Bond Origination – Dutch & Nordic Banks, was chair of the region from 2012.Bryan Pascoe, ICMA Chief Executive, said "We look forward to working closely with Ralph, benefitting from his extensive experience in the markets, to ensure we continue to serve our German membership effectively. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to Jo for his leadership and contribution over the years, and for cultivating such a close-knit community among the membership in Germany. I am pleased that Jo will remain an advisor to ICMA until our 2025 AGM and Conference in Frankfurt.”Members of the ICMA German regional committee include:Petra Wehlert (Vice chair)KfWAndreas BiewaldCommerzbank AGCristina FreudenbergerWhite & Case LLP (ICMA Women’s Network Steering Committee Representative)Frank GastEurex Repo GmbHChristian Georg-MüllerDZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank(ICMA Future Leaders representative)Mirko GerholdCommerzbank AGDetlef GiebeDZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-GenossenschaftsbankFlorian HesselMorgan Stanley Europe SEJulian KleinerUniCredit Bank AGMaximilian Klinkenbusch Commerzbank AG(ICMA Future Leaders Committee representative)Hendrik KühneHessische LandesbankSamira LampeCrédit Agricole CIB (Frankfurt) (ICMA Future Leaders Committee representative)Achim LinsenmaierDeutsche Bank AGChristian LunzUnion Investment Privatfonds GmbHThorben LüthgeDekaBank Deutsche GirozentraleOliver PilzHessische Landesbank(ICMA Future Leaders Committee representative)Patrick SeifertLandesbank Baden-WürttembergVanessa WieseKfW(ICMA Women’s Network Steering Committee Representative)Siyar Yikmis DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank (ICMA Future Leaders representative)

All European repo market participants are invited to participate in ICMA's 48th survey of the European repo market. The survey will be based on data of the repo business outstanding at close of business of Wednesday, 11 December 2024.PARTICIPATE

7 November 2024 As part of our mission to raise standards and support inclusion in the global financial markets, ICMA is offering 15 scholarships to young people interested in a career in the capital markets but who are unable to pursue a financial qualification due to their economic circumstances. The scholarships will be available to those from the following countries:Sub-Saharan Africa: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and ZimbabweAsia Pacific: Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam Latin America: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and UruguayThe ICMA Scholarship Programme is delivered in partnership with the ICMA Centre, Henley Business School, University of Reading and provides an opportunity to study for one of the ICMA Diplomas, namely: ICMA Diploma in Debt Capital Markets ICMA Diploma Securities & Derivatives ICMA Diploma in Financial Market Operations Since launching the programme in 2021, over 100 individuals from over 20 countries have been awarded the scholarship.All scholarship courses are studied online over 12 months in a mix of self-study and virtual classroom formats, some of which include online exams. The ICMA Scholarship Programme will fully cover the course and examination fees for the relevant Diploma.A good level of education (but not necessarily a university degree), interest in financial markets and proficiency in English are necessary application criteria. Candidates may be in full-time education, working in finance already or looking to move into it.Click here for more information.

6 November 2024 ICMA welcomes the FCA’s Policy Statement for Improving transparency for bond and derivatives markets, published yesterday, which sets out the UK’s post-trade transparency framework for the keenly anticipated consolidated tape. This is an important step in bolstering the UK’s infrastructure for the trading of domestic and international bond markets and in ensuring that London remains a leading centre for global capital markets.The success of the tape will hinge largely on the calibration of post-trade deferrals and the treatment of the most sensitive transactions, which are those in less liquid securities or very large size, and where the protection of both liquidity providers and investors is essential for market integrity. ICMA recognises the data-driven approach that the FCA has taken in determining the optimal design for the transparency framework, while balancing this with a need for implementational simplicity. ICMA further appreciates the high degree of industry engagement which has helped to refine some of the regime’s more technical features.ICMA looks forward to providing a more detailed assessment of the FCA’s proposals and – looking ahead - supporting a smooth implementation of the new transparency framework and the successful launch of a bond consolidated tape.     

5 November 2024 ICMA’s Secondary Market Practices Committee (SMPC) has published its semi-annual report that provides detailed data on EU and UK sovereign bond market trading activity.Previous versions of this report included both sovereign and corporate analysis. Following readers’ input and feedback, the report will now be published in two different editions: A sovereign edition (this report) A corporate edition (to follow) One of the core objectives of MiFID II/MiFIR was to provide greater public transparency of secondary trading activity in the EU and UK markets. As solutions have evolved to consolidate the disperse sources of public data, ICMA has sought to leverage the capabilities of such initiatives to provide a detailed and holistic view of bond market activity in the EU and UK.It is estimated that the report captures more than 80% of all secondary bond market transactions reported in the EU and UK and is therefore relatively representative of the aggregated bond market data as reported under the MiFID II/MiFIR obligation.This report, which follows the report published for H2 2023, provides 30 months of bond market data, covering the period January 2022 through to June 2024. 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.

4 November 2024 The Executive Committee of the Principles with the support of ICMA has published an updated edition of the Guidance Handbook.The November 2024 edition includes three new questions in relation with the Sustainability-Linked Bonds. More particularly, how to treat SLBs in the context of sustainable finance disclosure and labelling regimes (4.1.6) and whether an SLB should match updated corporate-level sustainability strategy targets and disclosures (4.1.7). It also provides guidance on KPIs selection to be able to claim SLBP alignment (4.2.8).The publication is intended to be widely circulated and used by the Green, Social, Sustainability and Sustainability-linked (GSSS) bond market in order to support market development and market integrity.Download the Guidance Handbook

4 November 2024 The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) welcomes today’s publication by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) of the Guardian Fixed Income Framework (GFIF) under the broader Project Guardian initiative.Project Guardian’s fixed income workstream collaborated with ICMA to develop protocols and data specifications building on ICMA’s Bond Data Taxonomy (BDT) and consider the types of risk factors and disclosures required in a tokenised bond offering document.By integrating ICMA’s Bond Data Taxonomy, the GFIF can help provide an industry guide to implementing tokenisation in debt capital markets, strengthen industry capabilities and catalyse adoption of tokenised fixed income solutions.Click here to read the Press Release from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.  

31 October 2024 ICMA has submitted today a set of comments in response to the draft recommendations issued by the Technical Group (TG) of the UK’s Accelerated Settlement Taskforce (AST). The draft recommendations were published on 27 September for market consultation, reflecting several months of detailed discussions within the Technical Group and its various workstreams. ICMA has been a member of the AST since its inception in early 2022 and has actively contributed to the discussions of the Technical Group. ICMA’s response to the consultation submitted today to the chair of the AST is based on additional feedback received from members of ICMA’s own T+1 Taskforce which brings together members of ICMA’s secondary market and repo and collateral constituencies, as well as a number of additional considerations received from ICMA’s primary bond market groups.

30 October 2024 ICMA’s guide provides a timely and comprehensive overview of the burgeoning Australian repo market, at a time of transition in that market, highlighting recent developments and describing the structure and operation of the market, its infrastructure, types of collateral and counterparties, and the legal and regulatory framework.Download the ICMA guide to Asia Pacific Repo Markets: AustraliaThis is the seventh in a series of reports on domestic repo markets that ICMA is publishing as part of its continued commitment to promoting the development of repo markets around the world. Guides to domestic repo markets in China, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam, were published in 2022 and 2023 (ICMA member login required).The Australian repo guide is sponsored by theCommonwealth Bank of Australia (open access).ICMA has played a significant role in promoting the international repo market since the 1990s. This includes the development of the Global Master Repurchase Agreement (GMRA), which has become the principal master agreement for cross-border repos globally, as well as for many domestic repo markets, supported by annually updated legal opinions in over 70 jurisdictions (view a full list of jurisdictions covered by the 2024 legal opinions update). For more information contact: apac@icmagroup.org

16 October 2024 ICMA has responded to ESMA’s Consultation Paper on Technical Standards specifying the criteria for establishing and assessing the effectiveness of investment firms’ order execution policies. The response was provided via ICMA’s MiFID Working Group which consists of buy-side, sell-side and market infrastructure providers. A link to the response can be found here.

ICMA welcomes the following new members in October 2024: Chongwa (Macao) Financial Asset Exchange Co., Ltd., China Dagong Global Hong Kong Limited, Hong Kong DenizBank A.Ş., Republic of Türkiye National Bank Financial Inc., Canada Rothesay Life Plc, United Kingdom Singapore Sustainable Finance Association (SSFA), Singapore Click here to view the full list of ICMA members.

14 October 2024 The European T+1 Industry Task Force, which includes ICMA along with 20 other trade associations, has today published a report outlining its preliminary analysis on the regulatory, technical, and operational changes required to facilitate a successful transition to T+1 in EU securities markets.The Task Force is generally supportive of the EU moving to T+1, but also acutely aware of the complexity of the exercise in the EU, which will require a significant effort from all sides, and will have to be reflected in the relevant timelines of the project. The report highlights that a successful transition requires further industry focus on improving the efficiency of existing post-trade processes and continued work to remove remaining post-trade barriers. While further in-depth impact analysis is required, the report suggests that once a firm decision has been communicated, a transition period of between 24 and 36 months will be necessary, reflecting the complexity of the capital markets landscape in Europe.As a next step, the Task Force recommends that EU public authorities provide a mandate for a broad industry stakeholder group to take forward the next phase of work, which should be closely coordinated with key regional partners including the UK and Switzerland.The report has already been shared with ESMA as input to their own report on T+1 and related recommendations, which is expected by mid-January and will be the basis for a political decision on T+1 in the EU. ICMA has been closely involved in the discussions around the shortening of the settlement cycle, both in the EU and the UK and will continue to actively contribute to the discussion.Read the report here

10 October 2024 The latest edition of the ICMA quarterly report is now available.To access the report, click here.

8 October 2024 AMIC welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on ESMA’s proposed regulatory technical standards (RTS) on the characteristics of liquidity management tools (LMTs), as well as the Guidelines on the selection and calibration of LMTs for AIFMD and UCITS.These measures are critical to ensuring the success of the agreement reached at Level 1 of the revised AIFMD and UCITS Directives which entered into force on 15 April 2024.Most importantly, it is critical that these measures support and respect the agreement that was reached at level 1 to ensure that fund managers retain the necessary flexibility to act as fiduciaries, in the best interest of investors, at all times.Read the full consultation response here

8 October 2024 Amendments to the ICMA Primary Market Handbook have been published today. 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).

7 October 2024 The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has today released a paper entitled "The role of commercial paper in the sustainable finance market," highlighting the growing recognition of the potential of sustainable commercial paper (CP) to form an integral part of sustainable finance strategies.With the market for sustainable CP potentially reaching EUR 300 billion, this paper provides crucial insights into its development and the best practices shaping its future.As issuers continue to seek innovative and flexible financing options to support their sustainability goals, the paper outlines how sustainable CP can serve as an important short-term funding mechanism in support of long-term environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives.The report also addresses some of the key challenges in this evolving market, including the contribution of short-term CP to long-term sustainability goals and reporting transparency, as well as the integration of sustainable CP into issuers' broader sustainable financing frameworks.Key Highlights: Sustainable CP has a growing role in issuers' overall sustainability strategies, supplementing sustainable bonds, which currently dominate the market. Use of Proceeds CP and Sustainability-Linked CP are the two emerging categories in this space, reflecting the increasing demand for financial products that cater to both immediate financing needs and ESG commitments. Recommendations from ICMA and its Commercial Paper Taskforce (“the Taskforce”) provide issuers with initial and preliminary best practices for the structuring and reporting of Use of Proceeds CP issuance, while making initial observations pending further development of the Sustainability-Linked CP market. “The sustainable CP market presents a flexible, short-term financing option that can complement issuers’ long-term sustainability strategies,” said Nicholas Pfaff, Deputy CEO and Head of Sustainable Finance at ICMA. “This paper outlines initial and preliminary best practices for issuers seeking to expand their sustainability toolkit to Use of Proceeds CP, while acknowledging that the Sustainability-Linked CP market may evolve further.”Katie Kelly, Senior Director, Market Practice and Regulatory Policy, ICMA added, “The Taskforce’s insights into market trends and standards highlight the potential for sustainable CP to play a much larger role in the sustainable finance ecosystem. As the market develops, ICMA will remain at the forefront of facilitating best practices and promoting transparency.”Download the full paper here.

3 October 2024 Today, a number of leading industry associations, including ICMA, co-signed a cross-industry statement on the MIFIR RTS 2 post-trade deferral framework for bonds. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is tasked with establishing the regulatory technical standards for a revised post-trade transparency regime for the European bond markets, which is intended to come into force with the introduction of the long-awaited consolidated tape. In the statement, the joint associations recommend that ESMA review its current proposals, which is published for public consultation earlier this year, and instead adopt an approach that is more scientific and data driven.The Associations fully support ESMA’s aim of providing for an adequate level of transparency. This will be beneficial to investors, liquidity providers, other intermediaries, as well issuers, across the entire range of different and diverse bond classes. Furthermore, this will play an important role in underpinning the development, unification and internationalisation of the EU’s capital market, enhancing its profile as a globally competitive and attractive centre for both issuance and investment. Critical to the attainment of this goal is the successful delivery of ESMA’s parallel aim of ensuring that liquidity providers are not exposed to undue risk.However, accurately determining which bonds and transactions will benefit from increased transparency (the large majority), and those for which a level of information deferral is necessary, will be critical to the success of the EU’s transparency regime.In assessing ESMA’s proposal, and responding to the consultation, three organisations, including ICMA, independently, took very similar approaches in using historical trading data to estimate the time required by liquidity providers to trade out of risk positions, for a given size, whether in terms of classes or subclasses of bonds, or at the individual security level. The importance of this analysis was also recognised by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).  While the methodologies differ slightly, the four approaches use the historical average daily traded volumes of different bonds and bond types as the basis for their analysis. All reach similar conclusions in estimating the average, and longest, times required to trade out of certain bonds or bond types, for a given size.The Associations strongly recommend that ESMA use a similar approach in assessing the appropriate groupings, liquidity determinants, deferrals, and related thresholds, to shape its design and calibration of the revised transparency regime. Improving bond market transparency is an underpinning objective of developing and deepening a more cohesive and globally competitive EU capital market and the introduction of a consolidated tape presents an opportunity to enhance market quality and resilience. Key to the success of the tape and the realisation of these goals will be the design and calibration of the related deferral framework. It is imperative that this reflects the nature, structure, and liquidity of Europe’s bond markets. A more data-driven approach will better support the successful attainment of ESMA’s dual aims of providing for an adequate level of transparency and ensuring that liquidity providers are not exposed to undue risk. It will also result in a deferral regime that is more appropriately calibrated to the market it is intended to serve.Read the Joint association statement here.

3 October 2024 The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) today published the Hong Kong voluntary Code of Conduct for ESG Ratings and Data Products Providers. The development of the Code is sponsored by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) which in October 2023 had appointed ICMA to provide the Secretariat and convene an industry working group to develop a voluntary Code of Conduct for the Hong Kong market.In line with recommendations by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the Code focuses on promoting transparency, good governance, management of conflicts of interest, and strengthening systems and controls in the sector.A public consultation on the Code had also been held earlier this year, gathering feedback from other market participants.Bryan Pascoe, Chief Executive of ICMA, said: “We are honoured to coordinate the voluntary code of conduct for Hong Kong, and grateful for the support of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and the involvement of key stakeholders from the private and public sectors. We will continue to contribute to best practices in the market, as well as Hong Kong’s wider sustainable finance initiatives” Julia Leung, Chief Executive Officer of the SFC, added: “We congratulate the working group and ICMA for the successful finalisation of the VCoC. The voluntary code will establish a benchmark for the provision of high quality, reliable and transparent ESG information to combat greenwashing in Hong Kong’s growing green and sustainable finance ecosystem.” The Code will be hosted and maintained by ICMA, and providers are encouraged to adopt the Code to enhance transparency and foster trust in their offerings.Download the Code:ENGLISH VERSION | CHINESE VERSIONConsultation Feedback Statement (English)A launch event for the Code, open to all market stakeholders, will be held on 29 November in Hong Kong. More details will be announced soon.