In support of its mission to assist in capital market development in emerging and frontier markets and to help forge resilient bond markets globally, ICMA has over many years worked with governments and multilateral development institutions around the world to support technical assistance and capacity building programmes focused on developing skills and expertise in the international bond markets.
ICMA provides the technical know-how and best market practices through its training and education courses and has been active in over 40 jurisdictions worldwide through its collaboration with the likes of the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Financial Academy of Saudi Arabia, Frontclear and the UK government, to name a few.
ICMA’s contribution to the development of global capital markets has been extensive and varied. It includes development of the repo markets, given the vital and central role of repo in the financial ecosystem in providing liquidity, marketability and opportunities for the mitigation of credit risk and in capacity building on sustainable finance with ICMA’s key role in the provision of the Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles, Sustainability Bond Guidelines, and Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles, the de facto voluntary global market standards for sustainable bonds. ICMA has also contributed to building capacity in front, middle and back office DCM roles across emerging and frontier markets to to promote the best practice market standards that the Association is renowned for.
ICMA welcomes the opportunity to continue to support the development of capital markets globally. For more information on how ICMA can support technical assistance and capacity building programmes, please contact Allan Malvar or Marc Granville.
ICMA delivers workshop on Building Resilient Corporate Bond Markets to IOSCO - July 2025
On July 8, International Capital Market Association (ICMA) was pleased to partner with International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) to conduct a workshop on Building Resilient and Efficient Corporate Bond Markets. This initiative, which is part of the overall IOSCO NEXTGEN capacity building program, was targeted at securities regulators from the growth and emerging markets.
The one-day training workshop was hosted by the IOSCO Asia Pacific Hub in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, bringing together close to 30 participants from 15 jurisdictions.
Participants discussed the role of corporate bond markets in financing the real economy and supporting the development of the capital markets, the preconditions and potential barriers for the sound development of corporate bond markets, and the need for robust frameworks that support market depth, liquidity, and resilience. The workshop also featured practical case studies and technical discussions on stress scenarios, risk management, and the use of financial technologies to leverage opportunities and overcome challenges. Participants also explored current developments including thematic bonds and the impact of digitalization and tokenization.
Related materials:
10 April 2025
Capacity building in the Saudi capital market, by Bryan Pascoe, ICMA
9 July 2025
Capacity building at ICMA, by Marc Granville, ICMA.
