The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has released latest figures on the size of the international bond market which show that at the end of 2006 the size of the market, measured in terms of outstanding debt in all currencies, had increased to USD 10,545 billion a 10.5 percent increase in the total size of the market at the end of 2005.
According to the data supplied by ICMA the value of new international bonds issued during 2006 was equivalent to USD 3,114,945 million. The Euro was again the dominant currency for new issues in 2006, with over 49 percent of last year’s issuance being denominated in Euro.
Euro denominated debt now comprises over 45 percent of the total outstanding, of other major currencies, the USD accounts for 36 percent of the total and the GB for almost 10 percent. ICMA also reported an increase in the amount of secondary market trades in all asset classes reported through its TRAX/TRAX2 risk management and regulatory reporting system for the over the counter markets. The system processed some 53 million trades during 2006, an increase of 54 percent on the figure for 2005.