As the European Union's Capital Markets Union (CMU) initiative begins to take its final shape, with the large Irish contribution to CMU's development acknowledged by EU Commissioner Lord Hill at the recent FIBI conference, Dublin is set to host a major capital markets conference in 2016. The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has announced it is to hold its 2016 AGM and conference in Dublin in May 2016 that will 'showcase this extraordinary and economically successful city to ICMA's international members.'
The board of ICMA have announced that its 48th AGM and conference will be held in Dublin from May 18th - 20th, 2016 and will take place at the National Convention Centre.

'I am delighted that Dublin has been chosen as the venue for 48th ICMA AGM in 2016,' said Martin Scheck, CEO of ICMA. 'We are looking forward to working with our members in Ireland, particularly the Irish Stock Exchange who played an important part in securing the AGM for Dublin, to make it a really great event and to showcase this extraordinary and economically successful city to ICMA's international members,' he added.

Gerard Scully, Director of International Primary Markets at the Irish Stock Exchange said 'the decision on the part of the board of the ICMA to hold their annual conference in Dublin in 2016 affirms Dublin’s position as a globally recognised international financial services centre.'

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) is a leading trade association for institutions that are active in the international debt capital markets, focussing on fixed income primary and secondary markets, also repo and collateral markets, Euro Commercial Paper, green bonds, covered bonds, pan European private placements and infrastructure finance. It has around 500 members located in some 60 countries, including large global banks, smaller regional banks, private banks, central banks, asset managers, law firms, clearing houses and exchanges. ICMA’s market conventions and standards are have been considered the pillars of the international debt market for almost 50 years.

The event is expected to attract in excess of 800 hundred delegates including senior representatives of European banks and assets managers as well as regulators.

Meanwhile the ISE’s latest figures show a total of 2,088 new debt securities were admitted to the ISE Q2 2015. These included a new €125m corporate bond by Iberia, a €500m issuance by French car parts maker Faurecia and a €350m issuance by Radio Televisione Italiana in its first ever bond on the ISE’s Main Securities Market (MSM).

€504m equity was raised during the quarter. Forecourt retailer Applegreen raised €70m in its IPO on the Enterprise Securities Market (ESM) in June. Permanent TSB transferred its listing to the MSM in May raising €400m.