The conversations at ICMA’s conference and AGM at the QEII Centre reflected a market that is under pressure, yet full of energy.

Attendees are navigating geopolitical complexity, regulatory evolution and technological disruption, while remaining the most important cross-border bond market community in the world.  

This event remains such an important fixture in the capital markets calendar. It brings together a community that needs to be in the same room, because the industry’s most complex challenges can only be addressed through collective engagement. 

It brought together more than 1,200 senior market participants from 60 countries, with over 120 speakers addressing topics from monetary policy and geopolitical risk to digital assets, AI and the future architecture of market infrastructure. 

Here are some of our key takeaways from the discussions, panels and debates:

A geopolitical roadmap for capital markets 

Multiple forces are reshaping the global order, from the evolving US trade posture and the fragmentation of multilateral institutions to tensions in Asia.

Sovereign spreads, the pricing of emerging market debt, currency volatility and cross-border capital flows are all now operating in an environment where political disruption can move faster than market infrastructure can adapt. 

The world has changed structurally and the assumptions that underpinned capital markets for the past thirty years need to be urgently reassessed. 

Tokenisation is making its way into infrastructure 

This year’s conference took place during an inflection point in the capital markets conversation about tokenisation and digital assets. In previous years, these sessions drew specialist audiences and sceptical questions. This has moved on markedly towards discussions around adoption.

The digitalisation agenda is now central to ICMA’s work across multiple committees, not just siloed within fintech. Discussions explored practical implementation standards. DLT-based issuance and tokenised securities drew significant attention, discussing the potential for greater settlement efficiency, broader investor reach and more integrated post-trade workflows.

Digital money was another key theme, exploring how wholesale CBDCs, tokenised deposits, stablecoins and commercial bank money could support digital asset settlement, and considered Europe’s position between the US focus on private digital money and China’s CBDC-led model. 

The evolving conversation around AI 

AI was woven through multiple sessions at this year’s conference.  The real barrier to full-scale adoption is organisational readiness with many firms remaining stuck in proof-of-concept mode, without clear objectives, governance frameworks or operating models for genuine adoption. 

AI surveillance in fixed income, which focused on aligning AI tools with regulatory expectations, revealed the two key issues to be repeatability and hallucinations, and the compliance issues they raise.

Private markets becoming mainstream

Private markets scale, visibility and role in portfolio construction have changed significantly. As a result, they featured heavily at this year’s AGM and conference. 

Rather than viewing private capital as a substitute for public markets or bank financing, the conversation has shifted towards how the two are becoming more connected, with private credit, structured finance and listed markets serving different but increasingly complementary roles.

Transparency, data and financial stability remain key concerns. As private credit grows and becomes more interconnected, distinguishing between genuine systemic risks and structural features inherent to long-term, less liquid investment is becoming increasingly important.

Chatsworth is ICMA’s communications partner for the 2026 AGM & Conference. We have been building capital markets reputations for over 20 years. To find out how we can help tell your story, get in touch.