Following the publication today of the report by the European Commission’s Expert Group on the functioning of European Corporate Bond Markets, Victoria Webster, Director of Fixed Income at AFME, said:

“The uniqueness of this report lies in looking at the European corporate bond markets from the perspective of issuers, investors, intermediaries and infrastructure providers. We hope the full list of 22 recommendations will be taken on board by national and European authorities and look forward to hearing how they intend to follow up on them.”

AFME, as a member of the expert group which was set up with a view to improving the efficiency and resilience of corporate bond markets, contributed to the report reviewing the functioning of the European corporate bond markets, in the context of building a Capital Markets Union.

To put together the report, the expert group looked at recent changes in European corporate bond markets and the principal drivers of those changes.

The headline report and supporting analytical report have resulted in 22 recommendations, across the following six objectives:

1. Making issuance easier for companies;
2. Increasing access and options for investors;
3. Ensuring the efficiency of market making and intermediation;
4. Fostering the development of new forms of trading;
5. Ensuring an appropriate level of information and transparency;
6. Improving the supervisory and policy framework.

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