The Bond Market Association, the New York-based-bond dealer trade group, is studying the feasibility of opening a Tokyo office to help facilitate interaction between its members and regulators in the Japanese market. Micah Green, president, says he hopes to have the study done by the July board meeting when he says the matter can be put to a vote. Green says that over the past several months he has had conversations with board members who have said that the growth and importance of the Japanese repurchase agreement markets, as well as the securitization and e-commerce markets, warrants the BMA's presence in Tokyo.
Green says the BMA enjoys a good relationship with the Japanese Securities Dealer Association and the Ministry of Finance, and would seek only to help "broaden the liquidity and depth" of these markets via their experience in the New York and London bond markets. He notes that one factor certainly affecting the decision will be members' willingness to support an additional office and its expenses, given the tenor of the markets over the past year.