With the prior approval of the ICMA International Repo and Collateral Council (IRCC) Committee, regional committees may enact trading guidelines or recommendations for their regional councils. Such guidelines or recommendations must be in the overall interest of improving efficiency or liquidity in the relevant market. The following guideline has been adopted with the approval of the IRCC Committee.
The Guide sets out standards for the orderly trading and settlement of repos. Its purpose is to help foster a smooth and orderly market in repo in Europe by recommending practices which market experience suggests can help avoid uncertainties or disagreements about transactions, and consequent delays or disruption to repo trading and settlement. The Guide also codifies market conventions, where this has been thought to be helpful, usually in response to queries from market participants.
The practices set out in the Guide are general recommendations only. Parties to repos are free to agree other terms, where they see fit. It is not necessarily a problem if recommended best practice is not followed, provided parties recognise the risks to which they may expose themselves as a result. The Guide has been written to assist staff in member firms of the ICMA ERCC, but other firms may find the Guide helpful. It presupposes some knowledge and experience of how the repo market operates.
The latest version of the Guide, published in March 2025, is effective as of 6 March 2025.
- ICMA ERCC Guide to Best Practice in the European Repo Market dated March 2025
- Consolidated blackline of amendments to the Guide since it was previously updated in October 2023
- Archive, providing access to the earlier (now superseded) versions
It is the intention of the ICMA ERCC to continually monitor developments in the European Repo Market. Accordingly, the Guide will continue to remain under review and will be amended as warranted by any evolution in the agreed understanding of best practice. Because of this intention to periodically amend the Guide, the most up-to-date version will be available on the ICMA website for download and print. It will be for repo market participants to ensure that they periodically check the ICMA website to ensure that they have the most up-to-date version of the Guide.
For further information please contact ercc@icmagroup.org.
See also:
- Frequently Asked Questions on repo
- UK Money Markets Code
- ASIFMA-ICMA Guide on Repo in Asia
- ICMA Guide to Asia Repo Market
- Best Practices on pair-offs and error trades for consultation
Contacts:
Andy Hill
Managing Director, Head of Market Practice; Secretary to the Secondary Market Practices Committee and also responsible for overseeing repo policy; Member of the ICMA Executive Committee
Direct line: +44 20 7213 0335
Alexander Westphal
Senior Director, Market Practice and Regulatory Policy, secretary to the ICMA European Repo and Collateral Council and Committee (ERCC) and ERCC Operations Group.
Direct line: +44 20 7213 0333
