ICMA to lead Project Guardian Fixed Income workstream
2 June 2025 The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) is pleased to announce its role as the lead of the Project Guardian Fixed Income workstream. Project Guardian, convened by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), is a global collaboration between policymakers and key industry players to enhance liquidity and efficiency of financial markets through asset tokenisation.
The Guardian Fixed Income Framework (GFIF), first published in November 2024 under Project Guardian, sets the stage for a structured, secure and innovative environment to enable digital transformation within fixed income markets in Asia-Pacific and beyond. In 2025, ICMA’s leadership in this workstream will focus primarily on two critical areas: Delivery versus Payment (DvP) settlement and custody arrangements for DLT-based debt securities.
The workstream will draw on ICMA’s expertise and guidance such as the DLT Bonds Reference Guide and its longstanding collaboration with stakeholders across the spectrum of international debt capital markets to foster DLT-based bond markets as a reliable source of funding and avoid market fragmentation.
Gabriel Callsen, Senior Director, ICMA, said: “ICMA is honoured to collaborate with MAS and other members of Project Guardian to lead this pivotal workstream. We look forward to collaborating closely with MAS and industry participants to facilitate scaling of DLT-based bond markets. This role underscores ICMA’s commitment to enhancing interoperability and efficiency in global capital markets through digital innovation, furthering our mission to support sustainable economic growth.”
ICMA’s role in the workstream highlights its continued leadership and advocacy in fintech and digital transformation, aligning with its broader strategy to promote well-functioning and resilient cross-border capital markets. More information on ICMA’s fintech and digitalisation initiatives, including its work on distributed ledger technology (DLT), can be found here.
