In recognition of the increased importance of financial markets in Russia and the CIS, and in response to the initiative of the Russian government to establish an important financial centre, ICMA's Board has established a new Russia and CIS region of the membership with its own committee.

In the Russian market ICMA has been actively supporting technical advances for a number of years through its close cooperation with the National Securities Market Association (NSMA). Amongst other initiatives, it has assisted the NSMA over the past 10 years in developing the Russian domestic repo market based on its experience in the international repo market and with the Global Master Repurchase Agreement (GMRA), the most widely used documentation for international repo market transactions.

The Association's membership in Russia and the CIS has continued to grow during this time. Speaking to an audience of senior bankers and government officials at an event in Moscow held today to launch this new initiative Hans-Joerg Rudloff, Chairman of ICMA, said: "We believe strongly that, in partnership with our Russian members and the Russian security associations, our long experience in the development of cross-border securities markets can be harnessed to benefit progress in bond markets in this very important and fast growing region." Martin Scheck, Chief Executive of ICMA commented: "This change to our established regional structure giving prominence to the strategically important market of Russia and the CIS strengthens our commitment to supporting and contributing to well functioning capital markets in the region".