Benefits of Membership

ICMA sustains and supports its members’ business by promoting the development & efficient functioning of the international capital market.

Since the beginning of the Euromarkets, over 50 years ago, ICMA has facilitated the interaction between issuers, lead managers, dealers and more recently investors and asset managers for the benefit of an efficient and well functioning capital market. Promoting best practices and standards, providing executive education, helping supervisory authorities and furthering the links between its members, were always and remain ICMA’s mission.

Members benefit directly in the course of their day-to-day business from ICMA’s focus on finding practical solutions to market questions. Its unmatched geographical and institutional diversity enable ICMA to play a major role in addressing the practical as well as the regulatory and legal challenges facing market participants as well as central banks and regulators.

ICMA is one of the few trade associations with a truly international focus which represents both buy side and sell side firms. In addition to facilitating the dialogue between its buy side and sell side members, ICMA maintains a regular dialogue with international and national regulatory authorities.

Key membership benefits include:

Formal involvement in a long-established and respected community of financial institutions active in the capital markets around the world.
ICMA membership is seen as a “stamp of approval”. ICMA members feel more comfortable dealing or interacting with another member, particularly if outside their own jurisdiction, and often the first place they will turn to in looking for business partners is the ICMA Members Register.
Access to ICMA Committees and Working Groups which develop recommendations, including guidance for members, for best market practice and the efficient operation of the markets. The Committees also consider policy responses to regulators.
Access to the work and advice of the Market Practice and Regulatory Policy Department, which keeps members informed about regulatory developments and the implications for their business through the quarterly report and other formal and informal channels.
Guidance on issues related to the international capital markets from the ICMA Secretariat and other market professionals.
Representation and guidance from specific market constituencies within ICMA which provide for discussion of technical issues, including: the Primary Market Practices Committee, ICMA Asia Bond Syndicate Forum, Legal and Documentation Committee, ICMA Asia Legal & Documentation Forum, Secondary Market Practices Committee, Euro Commercial Paper Committee, European Repo and Collateral Council and Committee, Asset Management and Investors Council, Public Sector Issuer Forum, Financial Institutions Issuer Forum, Corporate Issuer Forum, AMIC Covered Bond Investor Council, Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles (SBP), Sustainability Bond Guidelines (SBG), Pan-European Private Placement Working Group and Infrastructure Working Group
Strong regional organisation and representation ensuring that each of ICMA’s 15 regions decides on its own specific priorities, and that the viewpoints of the regions are represented at board level.
Preferential rates for ICMA Executive Education programmes in partnership with the ICMA Centre, University of Reading.These are internationally recognised and are required training by many ICMA member firms. Individually tailored training can be delivered ‘in-house’ according to members needs at substantially reduced rates.
ICMA organises over 100 events each year for its members internationally.

All ICMA members have free access to the following documentation and legal guidance:

ICMA Primary Market Handbook, which provides standard documentation and a set of recommendations for the primary market side of the industry.
ICMA’s rules and recommendations, which provide a framework of best practice in the secondary market.
Legal opinions on the Global Master Repurchase Agreement (GMRA), which currently cover 68 jurisdictions and which are updated annually, representing a major cost saving for firms engaged in repo business.
ICMA’s Legal & Regulatory Helpdesk, which provides informal guidance to members in response to their enquiries on the ICMA Primary Market Handbook, ICMA’s rules and recommendations, the GMRA and also on market practice and regulatory issues.
ICMA conciliation and arbitration in the event of a dispute.
The Members’ Register, in which all ICMA members are listed together with the contact details of key individuals.

ICMA Overview

Benefits of membership

ICMA European Repo and Collateral Council (ERCC)

ICMA Secondary Market Practices Committee (SMPC)

ICMA Asset Management and Investors Council (AMIC)

ICMA Corporate Issuer Forum (CIF)

ICMA Executive Education

ICMA Legal & Regulatory Helpdesk

Green Bond Principles (GBP)

Social Bond Principles (SBP)

Sustainability Bond Guidelines (SBG)

Green Bond Principles and Social Bond Principles Helpdesk