ICMA Publishes the Digital Bonds Annex, an Addition to the GMRA Digital Assets Annex
On April 30, 2026 ICMA released the Digital Bonds Annex, extending the Global Master Repurchase Agreement (GMRA) to cover transactions involving natively‑issued digital debt securities. The annex, crafted by ICMA’s Digital Assets Legal Working Group in partnership with ISLA and Clifford Chance, defines a "Digital Bond" that must operate on distributed‑ledger technology. It builds on the 2024 Digital Assets Annex, which standardized repo deals for digital cash and tokenised securities. ICMA will host a May webinar with Clifford Chance to walk members through the new documentation.
ICMA Publishes Its Semi-Annual Report that Provides Detailed Data on EU and UK Sovereign Bond Market Trading Activity
The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) released its H2 2025 European sovereign bond market data report, covering trading activity from 2022 through early 2026. Total notional trading volume reached €70.7 trillion (about $77 trillion), with €34.1 trillion ($37 trillion) traded in the second half of...
ICMA Publishes Version 2.0 of the Bond Data Taxonomy, Reflecting Growing Market Adoption
The International Capital Market Association released version 2.0 of its Bond Data Taxonomy (BDT), a machine‑readable standard for bond terms. The update expands coverage to multi‑series, class and tranche structures and adds flexibility for emerging‑market and distributed‑ledger use cases. Adoption...
ICMA Responds to Eurosystem Consultation on Appia Roadmap
On 22 April 2026, the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) submitted its response to the Eurosystem’s consultation on the Appia roadmap, which seeks to build a European tokenised financial ecosystem. ICMA, representing issuers, banks, investors and service providers, welcomed the opportunity to...
ICMA Publishes New Paper on the Role of ESG Ratings and Data Products in Sustainable Finance
ICMA’s March 2026 paper surveys asset owners and managers handling about $28 trillion, revealing ESG ratings and data products have become central to equity, debt and loan markets. It highlights growing transparency since IOSCO’s 2021 final report and the rise of...
ICMA Responds to FCA Consultation on Improving the UK Transaction Reporting Regime
ICMA responded to the FCA’s CP25/32 consultation on improving the UK transaction‑reporting regime, focusing on MiFIR cash‑bond reporting and the SFTR repo reporting framework. The feedback was produced by two dedicated ICMA working groups—a newly formed MiFIR Transaction Reporting Taskforce...
IIFM and ICMA Formalise Strategic Partnership to Standardise Islamic Repo Markets
The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) and the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a global, Shari’ah‑compliant repo master agreement. Leveraging ICMA’s Global Master Repurchase Agreement expertise and IIFM’s Islamic‑finance standards, the project...
ICMA Publishes Guide to Repo Markets: South Africa
ICMA has published an open‑access guide to South Africa’s repurchase (repo) market, the ninth edition in its global series of market‑specific manuals. The guide outlines the market’s structure, collateral types, counterparties, infrastructure, and the legal‑regulatory framework. Funding came from Strate’s...