All European repo market participants are invited to participate in ICMA's 49th 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 June 2025.PARTICIPATE

14 April 2025 Today ICMA announces the publication of the 2025 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 2025 opinions include a new addition for Northern Ireland, increasing the netting coverage to 73 jurisdictions. Coverage of the Digital Assets Annex is now also included across 6 jurisdictions: Belgium, England, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland. 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. 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 2025 ICMA has today submitted its response to ESMA’s consultation on proposed amendments to the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on CSDR settlement discipline. The ESMA consultation covers two ESMA mandates, one directly related to the existing settlement discipline RTS as well as a mandate to explore further tools to improve settlement efficiency. The consultation is also closely related to the ongoing T+1 discussion, as it picks up a number of proposals that ESMA had already anticipated in their final T+1 report and which are meant to facilitate the EU’s upcoming transition to a shorter settlement cycle. ICMA’s response to the ESMA consultation reflects feedback from members of ICMA’s CSDR-SD Working Group as well as the ERCC Operations Group and also builds on ICMA’s extensive work with members over the past years to help improve settlement efficiency in Europe, including through detailed ICMA best practices, focusing specifically on the use of various settlement optimisation tools such as shaping, auto-partialling and auto-borrowing.Key messages from ICMA’s response include: Regarding the timing of written allocations and confirmations, ICMA recommends a single deadline by the end of trade date, in line with the approach taken in the UK and US. ICMA supports ESMA’s proposal to require “electronic, machine-readable” formats for written allocations and confirmations. ICMA supports the use of open communication procedures and standards but argues against imposing a specific standard at this stage, such as ISO20022. ICMA strongly supports the proposal to require all CSDs to offer hold and release and auto-partialling functionality which are both key tools to support settlement efficiency. These should be further complemented by partial release functionality which is equally important and should be made available by all CSDs. As regards the use of auto-partialling, ICMA advocates for a stronger mandate than suggested by ESMA. In particular, we suggest that auto-partialling should become the default and parties should only be able to opt-out if strictly necessary and bilaterally agreed. Finally, the consultation also covers a number of other important aspects of settlement efficiency, including the use of Unique Transaction Identifiers (UTIs), Standard Settlement Instructions (SSIs), as well as the use of other important settlement optimisation tools, such as shaping and automatic securities borrowing and lending services offered by the ICSDs. While these are all important aspects that should be further encouraged, we agree with ESMA that these do not require for the time being any additional regulatory mandates. Instead, the ongoing work on T+1 offers an opportunity to agree strong and detailed recommendations in relation to all of those aspects and ICMA will play a constructive and pro-active role in these discussions, particularly when it comes to shaping and other optimisation tools. In terms of next steps, further to the consultation deadline, ESMA will be reviewing the feedback received and will work on a report for the European Commission (expected in Q3). The Commission, the European Parliament as well as the Council will then have an opportunity to review the proposals before they are adopted, currently expected in Q1 2026.

11 April 2025 ICMA welcomes the opportunity to comment on IOSCO’s Consultation Report on Artificial Intelligence in Capital Markets: Use Cases, Risks, and Challenges. This response reflects the views of the AI in Capital Markets Working Group.ICMA values the work IOSCO is doing to provide more public intelligence on the use of AI in capital markets, and in general, aligns with the key findings of the report, including that benefits and risks of AI in financial services are highly dependent on the type of AI technology used, how it is developed and for what purpose.ICMA also agrees that, in some cases, the terminology used to discuss AI has not always been clear, and certain terms have been used to cover a multitude of different aspects of AI with distinctive and different qualities. ICMA remains available to assist with any efforts made to address these challenges, such as defining a set of boundaries to clarify some of the terminology, to work towards a more productive and consistent global dialogue on the topic.ICMA members note that models, such as LLM’s and others used in Gen AI systems, can require significant computational resources and energy consumption in both their training and usage. Likewise, IOSCO also highlights the large amounts of memory required to store LLM’s, and the subsequent contribution AI usage might make to environmental risks. Further exploration on this topic would be of particular interest to the debt capital markets industry, due to the cross-cutting theme of ESG.It may also be beneficial for IOSCO to consider establishing a set of minimum general principles governing AI. IOSCO’s composition of global financial service regulators, in addition to recent guidance and regulatory initiatives on the topic of AI, such as ESMA’s 2024 guidance to firms using AI in investment services and HKSAR’s policy statement on responsible AI in the financial sector, provide an opportunity for IOSCO to further reflect on common themes and facilitate convergence at an international level between regulators in the financial sector.View the response.

11 April 2025 ICMA welcomes the opportunity to respond to His Majesty’s Treasury’s (HMTs) and the UK Debt Management Office’s (DMOs) announcement of a preliminary market engagement exercise for the Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) Pilot.ICMA’s response relates to select “market engagement questions” of non-commercial nature on the design of a Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) and includes also broader considerations.Key points: Investor demand for a DIGIT will be dependent on the characteristics of a DIGIT, individual investors’ strategies, cost-benefit considerations, as well as the ‘DLT readiness’ of investors’ custodians and sub-custodians, amongst other aspects. While the high-level expectation is that a DIGIT issuance will catalyse the market development as a whole and mark the starting point for further issuances, there is no clear consensus amongst different types of investors. As the first sovereign issuance by the UK, DIGIT has the potential to shape the evolution of the DLT-based Gilt market and the wider DLT-based bond ecosystem. DIGIT has an opportunity to address interoperability challenges and build on existing industry initiatives such as ICMA’s Bond Data Taxonomy (BDT), to avoid further fragmentation and bridge traditional and DLT-based debt securities. To mitigate the risk of market fragmentation, harmonisation of practices and collaboration on common standards will continue to be critical in order to foster the development of DLT-based bond markets as a reliable source of funding both for the public sector and the wider economy. Given that a majority of questions are targeted at individual firms, we have encouraged constituents across ICMA’s global membership to respond individually to those questions.View the response.

10 April 2025 The latest edition of the ICMA quarterly report is now available.To access the report, click here.

9 April 2025 ICMA’s European Repo and Collateral Council (ERCC) has today released the results of its 48th 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 11 December 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 48th ICMA ERCC European Repo Market Survey.The total value of repos and reverse repos still outstanding on the books of the 61 entities who participated in the latest survey fell back 2.3% year-on-year to EUR 10,860 billion. The latest total represents the first contraction since June 2020, but was presaged by a deceleration in the rate of growth over the previous 18 months.Summary of key findings: It is important to note that his latest survey covers the period prior to the tariff regime introduced by the current US administration.The results show the first downturn in market size since June 2020 - though unlike the temporary Covid-induced dip, this decline may reflect a more structural shift.  The transition from quantitative easing (QE) to quantitative tightening (QT) appears to have hit trading in specific collateral in particular, prompting questions over whether this marks a true turning point for the market. In H2 2024, a shift in balance sheet allocation away from Europe and toward the US was also evident, as trading opportunities in the euro area were perceived as relatively weaker. Correspondingly, European demand for US Dollars and US Treasuries continued to increase, now reaching record levels in collateral holdings. Meanwhile, some core eurozone bonds saw diminished investor interest, mirrored in subdued activity across automatic trading systems (ATS) and central counterparty clearing (CCP) platforms. These dynamics may be linked to political uncertainty and the heavier issuance of government securities.

9 April 2025 ICMA’s European Repo and Collateral Council (ERCC) has today released the results of its 48th 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 11 December 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 48th ICMA ERCC European Repo Market Survey.The total value of repos and reverse repos still outstanding on the books of the 61 entities who participated in the latest survey fell back 2.3% year-on-year to EUR 10,860 billion. The latest total represents the first contraction since June 2020, but was presaged by a deceleration in the rate of growth over the previous 18 months.Summary of key findings: It is important to note that his latest survey covers the period prior to the tariff regime introduced by the current US administration.The results show the first downturn in market size since June 2020 - though unlike the temporary Covid-induced dip, this decline may reflect a more structural shift.  The transition from quantitative easing (QE) to quantitative tightening (QT) appears to have hit trading in specific collateral in particular, prompting questions over whether this marks a true turning point for the market. In H2 2024, a shift in balance sheet allocation away from Europe and toward the US was also evident, as trading opportunities in the euro area were perceived as relatively weaker. Correspondingly, European demand for US Dollars and US Treasuries continued to increase, now reaching record levels in collateral holdings. Meanwhile, some core eurozone bonds saw diminished investor interest, mirrored in subdued activity across automatic trading systems (ATS) and central counterparty clearing (CCP) platforms. These dynamics may be linked to political uncertainty and the heavier issuance of government securities.

7 April 2025 ICMA’s European Repo and Collateral Council (ERCC) has launched today an online survey addressed to its members and other stakeholders seeking feedback related to current processes around repo manufactured payments and the related issue of identifying repos and other securities financing transactions (SFTs) at settlement level. The survey has been put together based on extensive discussions with members on this topic over the past months, led by the ERCC Operations Group. For context, the initiative is based on concerns raised by members with the manual processes around repo manufactured payments which continue to lead to (costly) delays. As part of its wider objective to support post-trade efficiency and STP in repo markets, ICMA is keen to better understand current issues and explore ways to make this process more efficient. We are therefore seeking views from the membership through this online survey. For further background, please refer to the related ERCC note that was published alongside the online survey. The deadline to respond to the survey is Wednesday 30 April. All responses will be fully anonymised and aggregated. Respond to the online survey

3 April 2025 ICMA’s Secondary Market Practices Committee (SMPC) has published its semi-annual report that provides detailed data on EU and UK corporate bond market trading activity.Previous versions of this report included both corporate and sovereign analysis. Following readers’ input and feedback, the report is now published in two different editions: A corporate edition (this report) A sovereign edition (released 21 March) One of the core objectives of MiFID II/MiFIR was to provide greater public transparency of secondary trading activityIt 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 H1 2024, provides 36 months of bond market data, covering the period January 2022 through to December 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.

28 March 2025 The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) releases an updated version of its Recommendations for Reporting under the SFT Regulation (SFTR). This marks the tenth update to the public version of the SFTR Guide since its initial publication in February 2020. Compared to the previous public version, released in April 2023, the latest edition of the Guide introduces a number of further updates and clarifications, including: How to report Sponsored Repo and other guaranteed or indemnified repo How to report variable-rate repo How to report a fixed-term, fixed-rate repo scheduled to pay interest during its term Reporting obligations of foreign branches in the UK Is a non-EEA asset manager of an EEA AIF reported? Where is the Jurisdiction of the Issuer? What is the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) of the Issuer? Reporting a pool of security and cash collateral Reporting variation margin of sub-portfolios For context, the ICMA Recommendations for Reporting under SFTR aim to help members interpret the regulatory reporting framework specified by ESMA in the EU and the FCA in the UK and set out complementary best practice recommendations to provide additional clarity and address ambiguities in the official guidance. The document has been developed over the past few years based on extensive feedback from members of the ERCC’s SFTR Task Force, which represents over 150 firms covering the whole spectrum of the market. The Guide is not an alternative to the regulatory texts and the practices set out therein are recommendations only.A blackline version has been published alongside the Guide, highlighting recent changes. ICMA’s SFTR Recommendations will continue to evolve in response to regulatory guidance as well as the ongoing discussions within the ERCC SFTR Taskforce.ICMA members also have access to a range of additional best practice documents that complement the Recommendations. For further information about ICMA’s work in relation to SFTR, please check the main SFTR webpage or contact us.

25 March 2025 The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has published a new paper with reflections and recommendations for the sustainable fund market in a new regulatory environment.Recent regulatory initiatives in the EU and the UK around fund categorisation, labelling, and naming will significantly impact a largely European industry that already reorganised in response to the EU’s SFDR in 2019.In this paper, we identify the implications of these regulations while looking at current market practices based on the results of a targeted research and building on our prior publications.We conclude by proposing priorities for a common roadmap for regulators and the market, while also making several recommendations relating, among other factors, (i) to consistency for a future SFDR review to avoid future disruption and/or discouragement of the sustainable fund market which will have substantially rebranded because of recent initiatives, (ii) to inclusiveness for the assessment of sustainable investments which should be feasible thanks to official and leading market taxonomies, as well as other established assessment tools, and, (iii) to the need to identify investments, such as those in the fossil and hard-to-abate sectors, that cannot necessarily be accommodated by other sustainable funds to grow transition-themed funds resulting from EU and UK regulations.

21 March 2025 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 H1 2024,  provides 36 months of bond market data, covering the period January 2022 through to December 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.

20 March 2025 This ICMA note summarises key points related to capital markets of the EU Savings and Investments Union Strategy (SIU Strategy) to foster citizens’ wealth and economic competitiveness in the EU.Download the note here.

12 March 2025 The International Capital Market Association (ICMA), with support from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), is pleased to announce the release of the fifth edition of its report, The Asian International Bond Markets: Issuance Trends and Dynamics.Over the past two decades, Asia’s international bond markets have seen remarkable growth, with issuance volumes rebounding strongly in 2024. Despite this momentum, Asia’s share of global issuance remains modest, though its role in shaping global capital flows is expanding.Our latest report explores: Latest Issuance Trends: A 20% year-over-year rebound in Asian international bond issuance volume, reaching $460 billion in 2024. Jurisdictional Highlights: India, China, and ASEAN markets are driving increases in issuance, with growth of the Asian international bond markets partly driven by new issuers. Sustainable Bonds: An important segment of Asian international bond markets, with Asia’s share higher than global averages. Download the report now for an in-depth look into the trends shaping Asia’s bond markets in 2025.  

6 March 2025 ICMA’s European Repo and Collateral Council (ERCC) has today published an updated version of the ERCC Guide to Best Practice in the European Repo Market. The ERCC Guide is a flagship document for ICMA and provides detailed guidance, best practice recommendations, and clarifications that are intended to support the well-organized trading and settlement of repos. Comprising around 170 pages, the ERCC Guide is among the most substantial and well-established industry self-regulatory guidance across the entire financial market.By setting standards and best practices, the Guide helps to avoid uncertainty and disagreements among market participants, helping to foster a more efficient and orderly repo market in Europe and beyond.This latest document reflects in-depth discussions and consultations with ERCC members which led to updates in several key areas of best practice including: Resilience and recovery of trading and post-trading infrastructure The impact of CSD and SSS outages Template agreement for bilateral pair-offs Sanctions  Cancellation of trades made in error on automatic trading systems Making prices on automatic trading systems Off-market prices on automated (RFQ) trading systems Repo portfolio transfers between LDI pension fund managers Buy-outs of LDI repo portfolios For easier comparison, the Guide itself was published along with a blackline version which highlights all the latest changes compared to the previous version of the document published in November 2023.The ERCC Guide to Best Practice in the European Repo Market is authored by Richard Comotto and was first published in 2014. Since then it has been regularly reviewed and updated to make sure that the document continues to accurately reflect current market practice. The review process is driven by a dedicated working group, the ERCC’s Best Practice Working Group, with input from both the ERCC Committee and the ERCC Operations Group. Members who are interested to get involved in the best practice discussions or the ERCC more broadly, please reach out to ercc@icmagroup.org.  Download the ERCC Guide to Best Practice in the European Repo Market.

28 February 2025 ICMA welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Financial Stability Board’s consultation report on Leverage in Non-Bank Financial Intermediation. This response represents an ICMA-wide consultation response, led by the Asset Management and Investors Council (AMIC) Committee, and the European Repo and Collateral Council (ERCC), as well as feedback from the broader ICMA membership.ICMA urges policymakers to recognise the diversity of the non-bank financial intermediation (NBFI) sector rather than applying broad banking-style regulations. The FSB should clearly define which firms fall under its proposals and exclude those that do not use leverage, such as MMFs and non-leveraged pension or investment funds.Regulatory efforts should focus on markets and institutions most critical to financial stability, rather than imposing broad measures. Leverage should be assessed alongside other systemic risk factors, particularly given existing leverage caps and reporting obligations in the investment fund space.Instead of introducing new activity-based measures (Recommendation 5), which fail to address the identified risks and could disrupt market stability, regulators should prioritise aligning global standards and reporting requirements. The proposed measures risk increasing costs, creating market frictions, and exacerbating procyclicality, particularly in the repo market.Entity-based measures would also be ineffective, adding unnecessary regulatory burdens without addressing real risks. The LDI fund example shows that systemic issues, not entity-level leverage, were the key concern. Regulation should instead target specific products where risks emerge, identified through cross-border systemic risk assessments.Authorities should enhance system-wide monitoring and better utilize existing reporting data, removing barriers to data sharing across jurisdictions.Read the full response here.Read ICMA’s previous response to the European Commission on macroprudential policies for NBFIs here.

ICMA welcomes the following new members in February 2025: Anrong Credit Rating Co., Ltd., China Bank Hapoalim B.M., Israel SBI Shinsei International Limited, United Kingdom SMBC Bank EU AG, Germany Click here to view the full list of ICMA members.

21 February 2025 ICMA welcomes the opportunity to respond to the IOSCO Consultation Report on Pre-hedging.The response is provided by ICMA’s Pre-Hedging Working Group, which comprises sell-side, buy-side and market infrastructure provider members of ICMA’s Secondary Market Practices Committee (SMPC), and solely in the context of international, secondary bond markets.Key points: ICMA members are of the view that existing code and guidance, such as the FX Global Code (2021, last updated 2024), and specifically the FMSB Standard for the execution of Large Trades in FICC markets (“FMSB Standard”, 2021) and FMSB Pre-hedging: case studies Spotlight Review (“FMSB Spotlight Review”, 2024) are sufficient for the markets they cover and that any further recommendations from IOSCO should be aligned with those existing codes and practices. Furthermore, ICMA members believe that no further prescriptive rules should be introduced as a result of any future IOSCO recommendations. Given the diverse nature of market dynamics and liquidity, asset classes, execution methods and investor sophistication around the globe, we believe IOSCO should provide high-level principles only and allow firms to tailor their internal procedures accordingly. Principle based recommendations will also make it easier to implement/consider across asset classes (e.g. equity v OTC markets) which are structurally different markets. Firms and other market participants should ensure that existing codes and guidance are applied consistently. In this context, and as highlighted throughout our response to this consultation, ICMA members would like to refer specifically to the principles and examples under the FMSB Standard and FMSB Spotlight Review. Further and more specific thoughts are provided in our response to the Consultation report With respect to the differentiation between execution channels, ICMA members would like to highlight that there should not be any bifurcation or unlevel treatment between OTC and electronic trading, referring also to the long-established principle of technology neutrality in regulatory action according to which, different media and channels should be treated equivalently. Further thoughts and detailed comments on the consultation questions can be found in ICMA’s response.

20 February 2025 The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) welcomes the decision by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) to expand its initiative to settle transactions recorded on distributed ledger technology (DLT) in central bank money.Read the full press release on the ECB’s website.ICMA and its DLT Bonds Working Group have consistently highlighted the critical importance of a wholesale CBDC (or DLT-based real central bank money settlement solution) and have long advocated for it, as a way of realising the benefits and fostering the market development of DLT-based securities.We believe the benefits include: Next level automation through programmability, reducing costs and fragmentation. More efficient securities settlement and post-trade processing, reducing settlement fails and risk. Increasing the attractiveness of capital markets and facilitating the funding for the real economy. Future proofing and maintaining control of the currency in light of the proliferation of ‘stablecoins’. We are pleased to see that the ECB’s announcement addresses our members’ key considerations. Collaboration with the industry, notably on harmonisation and standardisation, remains of paramount importance to avoid market fragmentation, and we look forward to engaging further with the Eurosystem and all relevant stakeholders.Further information on ICMA’s DLT Bonds Working Group as well as guidance on tokenisation and DLT-based debt securities can be found here.