International Capital Market Association

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) is a global not-for-profit trade association representing participants in the cross-border debt capital markets. Its membership and institutional relationships span banks, securities firms, asset managers, issuers, investors, infrastructure providers, law firms, and other organizations involved in international bond markets. The association operates from offices in Zurich, London, Paris, Brussels, and Hong Kong, giving it a presence across the principal European and Asian financial centres while supporting a market that is international by design. ICMA’s central role is to promote orderly, efficient, and resilient capital markets through industry-developed standards, recommendations, documentation, and guidance. It works with market participants, regulators, central banks, governments, and other public authorities on issues affecting the issuance, trading, settlement, and regulation of international debt securities. Rather than operating as a bank, exchange, or asset manager, ICMA functions as a convening and standard-setting body whose work helps market participants use common procedures across jurisdictions. The association’s origins are connected to the emergence of the Eurobond market in the 1960s. International borrowing in offshore US-dollar markets created new opportunities for issuers and investors, but also raised practical problems involving settlement, market conduct, documentation, and differing national rules. In February 1969, bond dealers established the Association of International Bond Dealers (AIBD) in Zurich under Swiss law. AIBD developed rules and recommendations intended to bring consistency and stability to international bond-market activity. During the 1980s it expanded into market data services and, in 1989, introduced TRAX, a transaction-matching, confirmation, and regulatory-reporting system. The organization changed its name to the International Securities Market Association (ISMA) in 1992. A separate body, the International Primary Market Association (IPMA), was founded in 1984 by major banks to address primary-market practices, including the issuance and distribution of international securities. In July 2005, IPMA and ISMA merged to create ICMA, combining primary- and secondary-market expertise within one association. The merged organization subsequently transferred its market-services business, including TRAX, to Euroclear in April 2009, allowing ICMA to concentrate more fully on its association, standard-setting, research, education, and market-development functions. Sustainable finance has become a major area of ICMA’s work. Since 2014, ICMA has provided the Secretariat for the Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles, Sustainability Bond Guidelines, and Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles. These voluntary frameworks are widely used by issuers, underwriters, investors, and other market participants when structuring or assessing sustainable bond transactions. Since December 2022, ICMA has also provided the Secretariat for a voluntary Code of Conduct for ESG Ratings and Data Providers. Through these activities, ICMA has become an important institutional reference point in the development of sustainable bond-market practices. Today, ICMA’s activities include market conventions, primary and secondary market guidance, repo and collateral-market practices, sustainable finance frameworks, regulatory engagement, education, research, and professional development. Its influence comes primarily from the adoption of its standards by market participants and from its dialogue with public authorities. Because ICMA is an association rather than a listed operating company, traditional consumer-brand measures such as retail sales, product revenue, and stock-market capitalization are not applicable.

ICMA developed from the institutional response to the rise of the Eurobond market in the early 1960s. Cross-border borrowing in offshore markets enabled issuers to access international investors and currencies outside their domestic systems, but the new market also created challenges. Transactions involved multiple jurisdictions, differing settlement arrangements, and uncertain or inconsistent conventions for trading and documentation. These conditions generated demand for shared market practices and a representative body for the banks and securities firms active in international bonds. In February 1969, a group of bond dealers established the Association of International Bond Dealers in Zurich under Swiss law. AIBD worked to bring greater consistency to the international bond market by publishing and promoting rules, recommendations, and operating conventions. Its activities helped market participants coordinate across borders at a time when there was no single global regulator or market infrastructure governing Eurobond transactions. During the 1980s, AIBD broadened its activities beyond representation and market rules by developing data services. In 1989 it launched TRAX, a system for transaction matching, confirmation, and regulatory reporting. The system addressed operational and transparency needs in increasingly sophisticated international securities markets. In 1992, AIBD adopted the name International Securities Market Association, reflecting the wider scope of its work in international securities markets. Primary-market activity was represented separately by the International Primary Market Association. Founded in 1984 by a number of major banks, IPMA focused on recommendations and practices for the primary capital market, including the origination, underwriting, and distribution of international securities. The existence of separate primary- and secondary-market associations reflected the different operational and commercial requirements of issuing new securities and trading securities after issuance. In July 2005, IPMA and ISMA merged to form the International Capital Market Association. The merger created a broader organization covering both primary and secondary international capital markets. It also brought together the historical AIBD network, ISMA’s market-practice work, and IPMA’s primary-market expertise under a single institutional identity. ICMA later reorganized its relationship with market infrastructure services. In April 2009, it sold its market-services business, including TRAX, to Euroclear. Following the transaction, ICMA’s role became more concentrated on industry representation, standards, education, research, policy engagement, and the development of market practices rather than the direct operation of transaction-processing services. Sustainable finance became an increasingly important part of the association’s remit. Since 2014, ICMA has provided the Secretariat for the Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles, Sustainability Bond Guidelines, and Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles. These frameworks are voluntary, but they have become widely referenced in the global sustainable bond market. They provide principles and recommended process features concerning the use of proceeds, project evaluation, management of proceeds, reporting, impact information, and, for sustainability-linked instruments, the relationship between financing terms and sustainability performance targets. In December 2022, ICMA expanded its sustainable-finance-related Secretariat responsibilities to include a voluntary Code of Conduct for ESG Ratings and Data Providers. This reflected growing attention from investors, issuers, and regulators to the quality, transparency, comparability, and governance of environmental, social, and governance information. ICMA maintains offices in Zurich, London, Paris, Brussels, and Hong Kong. Its work today encompasses international bond-market standards, primary- and secondary-market conventions, repo and collateral practices, sustainable finance, regulatory dialogue, research, education, and professional development. The association’s influence is based on the voluntary adoption of its recommendations by market participants and on its ability to convene the industry and engage with public authorities across jurisdictions.

• 2022

  ESG ratings and data providers code added

  [2]ICMA Sustainable Financeicmagroup.org

  ICMA began providing the Secretariat for a voluntary Code of Conduct for ESG Ratings and Data Providers in December.

• 2014

  ICMA begins Secretariat role for sustainable bond principles

  [2]ICMA Sustainable Financeicmagroup.org

  ICMA began providing the Secretariat for the Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles, and Sustainability Bond Guidelines; the Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles were subsequently added to this framework.

• 2009

  TRAX business sold to Euroclear

  [1]International Capital Market Associationen.wikipedia.org

  ICMA transferred its market-services business, including TRAX, to Euroclear.

• 2005

  ICMA formed through the IPMA–ISMA merger

  [1]International Capital Market Associationen.wikipedia.org

  The merger created an association covering both primary and secondary international capital markets.

• 1992

  AIBD renamed International Securities Market Association

  [1]International Capital Market Associationen.wikipedia.org

  The organization adopted the ISMA name as its activities expanded across international securities markets.

• 1989

  TRAX launched

  [1]International Capital Market Associationen.wikipedia.org

  AIBD launched TRAX, a system supporting transaction matching, confirmation, and regulatory reporting.

• 1984

  International Primary Market Association founded

  [1]International Capital Market Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Major banks established IPMA to develop recommendations for the primary international capital market.

• 1969

  Association of International Bond Dealers established

  [1]International Capital Market Associationen.wikipedia.org

  The Association of International Bond Dealers was established in Zurich under Swiss law to address market-practice and coordination challenges in the developing international bond market.

An international, industry-led standard setter and convening body for the cross-border debt capital markets, with particular influence in bond-market documentation, trading conventions, regulatory dialogue, and sustainable finance.

• Market standards · 1969

  International capital-market standards and recommendations

  ICMA develops industry-led standards, recommendations, and conventions for participants in international debt capital markets. These materials address areas such as issuance, trading, settlement, documentation, disclosure, and market conduct. They are designed to help market participants operate consistently across jurisdictions and to support more orderly, efficient, and resilient markets.

• Sustainable finance framework · 2014

  Green Bond Principles

  The Green Bond Principles provide voluntary guidance for green bond issuance. They focus on the use of proceeds, the process for evaluating and selecting eligible projects, management of proceeds, and reporting. The framework is intended to improve transparency and market integrity while helping issuers and investors communicate the environmental rationale of green bond transactions.

• Sustainable finance framework · 2014

  Social Bond Principles

  The Social Bond Principles provide voluntary guidance for bonds financing projects or activities with positive social outcomes. They address core process areas including eligible use of proceeds, project evaluation, proceeds management, and reporting. The principles are used by market participants as a common reference when structuring and assessing social bonds.

• Sustainable finance framework · 2014

  Sustainability Bond Guidelines

  The Sustainability Bond Guidelines cover bonds that finance a combination of green and social projects. They provide a voluntary framework for communicating how proceeds will be allocated and how the issuer will report on the financed activities. The guidelines seek to improve comparability and transparency across the sustainability bond market.

• Sustainable finance framework

  Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles

  The Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles provide voluntary guidance for bonds whose financial or structural characteristics may vary according to the issuer’s achievement of predefined sustainability performance targets. They emphasize the selection of relevant targets, disclosure of the bond’s structure, reporting, and verification so investors can evaluate the credibility of the sustainability linkage.

• Voluntary code of conduct · 2022

  ESG Ratings and Data Products Providers Code of Conduct

  This voluntary code of conduct addresses ESG ratings and data providers. It is intended to support clearer governance, transparency, and responsible practices in the production and use of ESG-related information, an increasingly important input for issuers, investors, and regulators.

• Education and research

  Professional education and market research

  ICMA provides market research, technical publications, educational programs, and professional-development resources for participants in international capital markets. These activities complement its standard-setting work by helping practitioners understand market conventions, regulatory developments, sustainable finance, and operational practices.

• 2022

  Provide Secretariat for ESG ratings and data providers codeStrategy

  Background

  Growing use of ESG ratings and data increased concern about transparency, governance, comparability, and the quality of ESG information.

  Action taken

  From December 2022, ICMA provided the Secretariat for a voluntary Code of Conduct for ESG Ratings and Data Providers.

  Aftermath

  The move extended ICMA’s sustainable-finance role beyond bond principles into adjacent ESG information and market-conduct issues.

  Source

• 2014

  Expand into sustainable bond-market standard settingStrategy

  Background

  The growth of green, social, and other sustainability-related debt instruments created demand for common voluntary frameworks and clearer market practices.

  Action taken

  ICMA began providing the Secretariat for the Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles, and Sustainability Bond Guidelines, with Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles later included in the related framework.

  Aftermath

  ICMA became a prominent institutional reference point for sustainable bond issuance and market practice.

  Source

• 2009

  Sell market-services business to EuroclearM&A

  Background

  ICMA operated market-services activities including TRAX, a transaction-matching, confirmation, and regulatory-reporting system.

  Action taken

  In April 2009, ICMA sold its market-services business, including TRAX, to Euroclear.

  Aftermath

  The transaction shifted ICMA’s focus away from direct market-service operations and toward association activities, standards, education, research, and policy engagement.

  Source

• 2005

  Merge IPMA and ISMAM&A

  Background

  IPMA represented primary international capital-market activity, while ISMA represented secondary-market and broader international securities-market practices.

  Action taken

  The two associations merged in July 2005 to create the International Capital Market Association, combining their coverage of primary and secondary markets.

  Aftermath

  The merger established ICMA as a broader trade association for international debt capital-market participants.

  Source

1. 1International Capital Market Associationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2ICMA Sustainable Financeicmagroup.org
3. 3ICMA official websiteicmagroup.org