Repo markets are a critical part of the financial system, supporting market liquidity, price discovery and the efficient mobilisation of collateral, yet their role and functioning are not always well understood. A core part of ICMA’s European Repo and Collateral Council’s (ERCC) mandate is to foster transparency and a better understanding of the repo market. For this purpose, ICMA already provides a wealth of public repo-related information, including the Repo FAQs, our semi-annual European Repo Market Survey, as well as ad-hoc ERCC reports and repo market data.
Complementing these resources, the ERCC Repo Market Pulse offers timely, accessible analysis of significant market events and developments, drawing on market data and the ERCC’s extensive practitioner network.
If you have any comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch: ercc@icmagroup.org.
Latest insights
15 October 2026: In its 25th year of publication, the ICMA European Repo Market Survey shows that the market is bigger, deeper, and more resilient than ever
On 13 October 2026, ICMA published Edition 51 of its bi-annual European Repo Market Survey, celebrating 25 years of this essential insight into the structure and dynamics of the market. And it paints a compelling picture:
- €14.9 trillion in outstanding repo business — a new record, up 20% year-on-year.
- €2.8 trillion in estimated daily turnover — up 18% in just six months.
- Resilience under pressure — absorbing geopolitical shocks, bond market volatility, and quantitative tightening, while maintaining generally stable repo rates.
- A dynamic, evolving market — record tri-party activity, expanding central clearing, and continued growth in electronic dealer-to-customer trading.
- Essential market infrastructure — supporting government bond markets, collateral mobilisation, and the efficient distribution of liquidity across Europe's financial system.
What can we take away? That Europe's repo market is alive, fit, and healthy; and continues to demonstrate its importance as a cornerstone of financial market resilience.
Download the report
13 October 2026: Borrow bonds, lend cash, any questions?
Last week’s chapter on hedge funds in the IMF Global Financial Stability Report was yet another public-sector paper leaning into the idea of policy interventions designed to curb repo market activity. But as the article by Gareth Allen, Global Co-Head of Investment, Funding and Execution, UBS AG, and Chair of ICMA's European Repo & Collateral Council, published in the latest ICMA Quarterly Report, explains, regulating the repo market is fiendishly difficult. Whilst the structure of repo transactions may be simple, the interconnectivity of the various functions of repo throughout the financial system is highly complex. Try to squeeze leverage, and this could have repercussions for collateral mobility or monetary policy transmission. As both the IMF and Allen suggest, better visibility of the entire market ecosystem should be the priority.
Read the full article
6 October 2026: September quarter-end: three currencies, three repo market outcomes
September quarter-end funding conditions were orderly overall, although the headline result conceals three quite different regional experiences. EUR repo absorbed a visible but short-lived turn before retaining a modest post-quarter-end risk premium, particularly in France and Italy. Sterling experienced the most pronounced balance-sheet-driven dislocation, despite liquidity supplied through Bank of England operations remaining substantial. By contrast, USD repo passed quarter-end with little apparent stress, supported by strong cash demand and increasingly effective intermediation.
Across all three currencies, repo markets remained more stable than the underlying government bond markets. The main message is therefore not one of systemic funding stress, but of growing differentiation: by collateral in EUR, by intermediary in GBP and by market structure in USD.
More detailed analysis
Contacts:
Andy Hill
Managing Director, Co-Head of Market Practice & Regulatory 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
Zhan Chen
Associate Director, Market Practice and Regulatory Policy
Direct line: +44 20 3617 8993
Aman Gill
Associate, Market Practice and Regulatory Policy
Direct line: +44 20 3917 2845
