The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has published a new Global Master Repurchase Agreement (GMRA) legal opinion for Ghana. This legal opinion covers the enforceability of the netting provisions of the GMRA, as well as the validity of the GMRA as a whole, under the laws of Ghana.

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has published a new comprehensive reference guide, providing practical insights into the duration period of debt securities based on distributed ledger technology (DLT). The guide represents a joint initiative across the bond market value chain and addresses over 50 vital questions, seeking to aid market practitioners in both traditional and digital asset roles while aiming to boost liquidity in DLT-based bonds by highlighting compatibility; cash on ledger; legal and regulatory aspects and; to enhance standardisation in particularly the tokenised debt security sector.

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has published a paper entitled, ‘The role of commercial paper in the sustainable finance market’. The paper presents the framework for a short-term funding mechanism to substantiate long-term environmental, social and governance objectives, addresses pivotal obstacles faced in the evolving green finance market, while highlighting the overall potential of sustainable commercial paper (CP) to form an integral part of sustainable finance strategies.

The International Capital Market Association’s (ICMA) Repo & Sustainability Taskforce has published a report to reflect the feedback received in response to its 2024 Repo & Sustainability market survey, launched in February 2024. The survey aimed to deepen understanding of current market practices and to identify any issues and opportunities for future guidance.

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has released its latest semi-annual report, offering detailed insights into trading activity in the EU and UK corporate bond markets. This edition, now solely focused on corporate bonds, contains 30 months of data from January 2022 to June 2024; including over 80% of secondary bond market transactions reported in the EU and UK under MiFID II/MiFIR requirements, demonstrating a comprehensive overview of market trends.

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has published a report entitled ‘Bond markets to meet EU investment challenges’, which contains regulatory policy recommendations for the next EU political cycle. The report highlights the key role that bond markets can play in funding the investment needed to support long-term sustainable development, innovation, competitiveness, and growth.

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has responded to the Bank of England’s (BoE) and Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) consultation on implementing the Digital Securities Sandbox (Sandbox). Whilst ICMA members are generally supportive of the draft guidance, they recommend adopting a more flexible approach to applying limits for live transactions on a firm-by-firm basis, enabling Sandbox participants to scale continually and expand the scope of securities to non-sterling currencies within the Sandbox.

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has responded to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)'s proposals to further define the European Union consolidated tape framework following the amendments of the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) which entered into force on 28 March 2024. In the response, ICMA highlights the importance of a distinction between the different asset classes in the development of this framework.

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has submitted its response to the International Organisation of Securities Commissions' (IOSCO) consultation on artificial intelligence (AI) in capital markets. ICMA endorsed IOSCO's assessment that AI benefits and risks vary by the type of technology as well as the implementation. ICMA recommended that IOSCO establish minimum AI governance principles and facilitate regulatory convergence, citing recent initiatives like the European Securities and Markets Authority's 2024 AI guidance and Hong Kong's AI policy statement.

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has published its feedback on the draft amendments to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/980 under the EU Listing Act. The feedback specifically addresses the prospectus format sequencing and ESG disclosure requirements. ICMA welcomes the alleviations provided for base prospectuses and 144A offerings. However, it requests broader exemptions for standalone prospectuses and the reinstatement of explicit alleviation wording. The response also covers issues related to mandatory sequencing rules, the categorisation of ESG disclosures for non-EU Green Bond securities and various technical drafting corrections.

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) responded to the European Commission's consultation on AI (artifical intelligence) in finance, emphasising human oversight, robust risk frameworks, and caution against premature AI-specific regulation. ICMA highlighted AI's interconnection with ESG and blockchain, as well as its benefits in efficiency and automation for capital markets. ICMA's aims to balance innovation with fairness in debt capital markets, noting that existing financial regulations already provide safeguards for responsible AI use.

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has responded to EU lawmakers the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)’s consultation on rules for External Reviewers of EU Green Bonds (EU GBs).