Commenting on the appointment, Mr Hans-Joerg Rudloff, the Chairman of ICMA, stated: "ICMA, through its predecessor associations ISMA and IPMA, has played a major part in the development of the financial markets over the last few decades. Under the leadership of René Karsenti, ICMA will continue to reinforce its role in the international capital market. Mr Karsenti's outstanding skills as a market practitioner, his knowledge of the regulatory environment and, most importantly, the respect he enjoys among market participants as well as supervising authorities and regulators alike, will allow ICMA to make a major contribution to the global financial architecture, so serving the interests of its membership of more than 400 financial institutions, the new Financial Markets Federation and the capital market as a whole."

Mr Karsenti joins ICMA from the European Investment Bank (EIB), Luxembourg where he has been Director General of Finance since 1995. Prior to joining the EIB, Mr Karsenti was the Treasurer of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London from its inception in May 1991. Before that Mr.Karsenti held various senior positions in the treasury organisations of the World Bank Group (IBRD and IFC) in Washington.