International Capital Market Features
Regulatory policy work of the new ICMA representative office in Brussels by Julia Rodkiewicz
ICMA’s new representative office in Brussels opened in May 2021, marking an important step for ICMA in extending its physical presence in continental Europe and reflecting the Association’s extensive membership across the EU. Just over 40% of ICMA’s members are based in the EU, including 15 EU central banks. The primary role of ICMA’s representative office in Brussels is to facilitate communication with the EU institutions, EU Member State authorities and Members of the European Parliament on topics affecting the international debt capital markets, building upon ICMA’s existing strong relationships. In cooperation with members, ICMA will strengthen its existing engagement with policy makers at all levels by sharing market data and regulatory analysis with relevant stakeholders. In the short time in which the office has been operating we have furthered dialogue with the European Commission, German and French Ministries of Finance and Members of the European Parliament.1 We have been engaging on several key regulatory issues, for instance the CSDR mandatory buy-in provisions, MiFID II/R bond market transparency requirements, alleviations of the product governance regime under MiFID II/R “quick fix” and sustainable finance via the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance. For more detailed information on these matters, please see the sections of this Quarterly Report dedicated to primary markets, secondary markets and sustainable finance. We have already seen the benefits of being able to coordinate messages from ICMA’s primary and secondary communities and deliver them in a more integrated manner to policy makers. This holistic approach is particularly pertinent in the context of the EU’s Capital Markets Union initiative and the importance of avoiding unintended consequences or unnecessary market fragmentation generally.
1. ICMA’s EU Transparency Register number: 0223480577-59. PAGE 12 | IS S U E 62 | THIRD QUARTER 2021 | ICMAGROUP.ORG
The office is staffed initially by new hire Julia Rodkiewicz, who has joined ICMA as a Director in the Market Practice and Regulatory Policy team, where she contributes to ICMA’s policy work and is Secretary to ICMA’s Regulatory Policy Committee. The Regulatory Policy Committee recently held a meeting with Jean-Paul Servais, Vice-Chair, International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and Chairman of the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) to discuss international supervisory cooperation and sustainable finance developments at global, EU and national levels. We look forward to developing the work of the Brussels representative office in collaboration with ICMA’s Regulatory Policy Committee members. We will be engaging in workstreams related to the primary markets, secondary markets, repo and collateral markets, short-term markets, sustainable finance, asset management, FinTech, the transition from IBORs to risk-free rates and other topics affecting the international debt capital markets. These activities will be carried out in close co-ordination with the other ICMA offices in Zurich, Paris, London and Hong Kong, taking into account national, regional and international market practice and regulatory policy issues. Contact: Julia Rodkiewicz julia.rodkiewicz@icmagroup.org
