ICMA publishes its semi-annual report that provides detailed data on EU and UK corporate bond market trading activity
15 June 2026 - ICMA’s Secondary Market Practices Committee (SMPC) has published its semi-annual report that provides detailed data on EU and UK corporate bond market trading activity
This report provides an overview of European trading activity for corporate bond markets, comparing our latest findings with past performances since January 2022.
The report is published in two separate editions:
Key findings
European corporate bond secondary market activity remained robust in 2025, with total traded volumes reaching approximately €5.7tn with more than 6.3 million trades.
Trading activity peaked in Q1 2025, recording the highest quarterly volumes and trade counts since the start of the dataset in 2022, before normalising through the remainder of the year.
Average trade sizes increased during 2025, reversing the downward trend observed since 2022, with Q4 2025 average trade sizes rising to approximately €880k.
Off-venue (”voice”) trading remained the dominant execution channel, representing 53% of traded volumes, while dealer-to-client venue trading accounted for 47%. However, venue trading has continued to gain market share over time, particularly for smaller trade sizes, with the proportion of on-venue trading increasing steadily since 2022.
While larger transactions remained predominantly OTC in 2025, with trades above €25m overwhelmingly executed off-venue, the data indicates increasing venue usage for larger ticket sizes.
More information about the SMPC can be found here.
