ICMA EVENTS AND EDUCATION

ICMA Events

ICMA made a welcome return in June to a hybrid AGM & Conference in Vienna. After two years of a digital format, our members and delegates returned in numbers comparable with the historical average for attendees. With many regional travel restrictions still in place, the hybrid format attracted almost 900 attendees in person, with 100 delegates joining online from around the world.

Mandy DeFilippo, Chair of the Board, ICMA, and Bryan Pascoe, Chief Executive, ICMA, set the tone at the AGM, laying out in their speeches the importance of trade associations in the context of an uncertain and rapidly changing market and socio-economic environment. Both Mandy and Bryan highlighted the notable successes of ICMA over the last 12 months, including successful engagement with regulators in opposing mandatory buy-ins under the Central Securities Depository Regulation (CSDR), the transition from LIBOR to risk-free rates in the bond market, and working closely with the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong to formalise rules & standards around primary market book building and placing. They also drew attention to the expansion of ICMA’s outreach and education activities and the growth in membership to over 600 members in 65 jurisdictions globally. Establishing the scene for the rest of the Conference, Chair and Chief Executive acknowledged the continued focus of the Association on the core areas: primary markets, secondary markets, and repo & collateral, and the rapidly growing cross-cutting themes of sustainable finance and FinTech. Additionally, the importance of diversity and inclusion were emphasised and positioned as a key theme for the ICMA to set the industry standard, as it does in its core areas. The AGM ended with a fitting thank you to Martin Scheck for his exceptional contribution as ICMA Chief Executive over the last 12 years. With that and a lunch break, the Conference opened to a packed audience and the pent-up enthusiasm created by a two-year hiatus. Over the next two days, keynote speeches, fireside chats and panels discussed, explored and debated the challenges and opportunities facing the global capital markets. Many topics were covered, from the pandemic and geopolitical crisis to sustainable finance, blockchain bonds, technology, diversity and inclusion, and of course, regulation. The audience received the insight and atmosphere only a close, in-person community can deliver. Needless to say, after all the hard work, the delegates and speakers required a little culture and light refreshment. The Welcome Reception at Heuriger Wolff, ICMA Women’s Network (IWN) and ICMA Future Leaders (IFL) receptions, and the Gala Reception at the historic Hofburg were thoroughly enjoyed, if not leading to the need for a little “Reparaturseidl”, as they say in Vienna.

Following hot on the heels of the ICMA AGM & Conference, the Principles AGM and Conference took place in London at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Denise Odaro, Chair of the Principles, and Nicholas Pfaff, Deputy Chief Executive and Head of Sustainable Finance, ICMA, updated the AGM on the new and updated publications for The Green Bond Principles (GBP), the Social Bond Principles (SBP), Sustainability and SustainabilityLinked Bond Principles (SLBP) (“the Principles”), including new definitions for green securitisation, updated key performance indicators for Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLBs) and new resources for climate transition finance.

The Conference opened with a panel of the Executive Committee of the Principles, providing delegates with guidance on the 2022 additions and updates to the Principles. Keynotes followed from the Ministry of Finance for Chile and the International Energy Agency (IEA), which were very well received by attendees. The panel sessions proved lively and well-debated, covering the critical issues of innovation and transition with SLBs, securitisation, emerging markets, high yield and sustainable commercial paper and repo at the shorter end of the curve. Sir Robert Stheeman, Chief Executive Officer, UK Debt Management Office, closed the Conference with some notable remarks before delegates enjoyed a well-attended networking reception. We would again like to thank all of our speakers, sponsors and exhibitors, members and delegates for joining us in Vienna and London and for their support in making this year’s events memorable and exceptional. We look forward to welcoming you back to our AGMs & their accompanying conferences in 2023.

ICMA Education

This year marks 30 years since the first publication of the Global Master Repurchase Agreement (the GMRA), a document which has become the foremost agreement for documenting cross-border repos globally. ICMA Education, in association with Ashurst, are marking this anniversary by launching Introduction to the Global Master Repurchase Agreement, a fully asynchronous, online self-study (e-learning) course to provide an overview of the structure and purpose of repurchase transactions, describing the economic effects of repo and the underlying fundamental concepts. The course sits within our Repo & Collateral Management series of courses and features topics including the architecture of the GMRA, key provisions and features, benefits of using a master agreement, potential areas of risk and relevant case law. Featuring 11 videos, each around 15 minutes in duration and narrated by Kirsty McAllister-Jones, Expert Counsel with Ashurst, the course includes downloadable scripts and concept checking questions following each video to ensure participants understand the content. Presented on the ICMA learning platform Canvas, participants have the ability to ask the trainer questions via a message service and discuss the course with other participants on the discussion forum, plus receive access to supplementary materials from the association to ensure they stay up to date with the latest market and regulatory developments. For more information about this and any of our courses, visit https://www.icmagroup.org/executive-education/ ICMA Education – the training provider for professionals in the capital markets