Paris and London, October 2026. – Onbrane and Agora Digital Markets today
announce the appointment of Jean-Luc Lamarque, former Global Head of Syndicate at
Credit Agricole CIB and past Chair of the ICMA Board, as Senior Adviser, Primary Markets.
Mr Lamarque will advise both companies on bringing new issuers, dealers and investors
onto their digital primary-market services, in commercial paper today and as those
services extend into medium-term notes and bonds. The appointment is the first made
jointly by the two companies, which announced earlier this year their intention to combine,
subject to approval by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.
Mr Lamarque brings more than 30 years of international experience in investment banking,
primary markets and credit. At Credit Agricole CIB he was Global Head of Syndicate, with
broader leadership responsibilities across Global Primary Markets, and he served on the
Board of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), including as Chair of the
Board. He has worked with financial institutions, issuers and market infrastructure
organisations across Europe, the United States and Asia.
Onbrane operates the leading digital negotiation platform for European commercial paper,
connecting issuers, dealers and investors; since launch the platform has handled around
2,500 negotiations with an aggregate executed volume of approximately EUR 200 billion.
Agora Digital Markets, authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, has
built ACE, a deterministic engine that represents debt instruments and their full lifecycle as
structured data. The proposed combination brings together Onbrane’s network and
Agora’s engine in a single group, which will trade as Onbrane. Its purpose is a single
platform on which an issuer can manage all of its debt across the curve, from commercial
paper to medium-term notes and bonds; on which the different teams within a bank can
serve their clients in one secure environment; and on which investors and asset managers
can work across asset classes. Mr Lamarque’s brief spans the full range of the combined
group’s services: commercial paper today, and medium-term notes and bonds as the
platform extends.
“Jean-Luc has run one of Europe’s leading syndicate desks and chaired the association that
sets the standards our markets run on. He knows the issuers, the dealers and the investors,
and he knows exactly where the friction sits in primary-market workflow. Our teams carry the
work of bringing institutions onto the platform, in commercial paper today and in MTNs and bonds as we bring Onbrane and Agora together, and Jean-Luc’s advice and his relationships
will make that work faster and better. I am delighted to have him alongside us.”
Pascal Lauffer, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Onbrane
“Jean-Luc has sat on the other side of the table from both Onbrane and Agora, running one of
Europe’s leading primary-markets businesses and chairing ICMA, and he has chosen to work
with us as we bring the two companies together. That is a strong validation of what each of us
has built and of the combination. He comes to us straight from a senior seat on the dealer side
with a network that runs across the banks and the issuers alike, and that is exactly what
carries a new workflow from the first adopters to the rest of the market. I have known him
across many years and many markets, and I am delighted he is with us at this moment.”
Charlie Berman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Agora Digital Markets
“I first came across Onbrane and Agora from the other side of the table, when each came to
Credit Agricole CIB to show my teams what they were building, and I have watched Onbrane
become the reference platform for European commercial paper since. What persuaded me to
take this on is the combination: Onbrane’s network together with Agora’s engine for
representing instruments as data is the most credible route I have seen to modernising
primary issuance across the whole debt market, not just money markets. I look forward to
helping issuers, dealers and investors capture the benefits as the combined group takes
shape.”
Jean-Luc Lamarque
Mr Lamarque advises the two companies on an independent basis through his advisory
firm, Kingsway Financial Services, and takes up the role with immediate effect, working
from London and Paris.
About Onbrane
Onbrane is a technology provider developing innovative solutions for primary debt
markets, supporting issuers, intermediaries and investors across a range of instruments
including vanilla, sustainable and structured products. Headquartered in Paris, Onbrane
works with leading public, private and financial institutions to modernise issuance
processes and market infrastructure. Since launch its platform has handled around 2,500
negotiations with an aggregate executed volume of approximately EUR 200 billion.
About Agora Digital Markets
Agora Digital Markets Limited is a London-based financial technology company authorised
and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Agora has built ACE, a deterministic
engine that represents debt instruments and their lifecycle as structured data, enabling
documentation, issuance and post-trade processes to be orchestrated across commercial
paper, medium-term notes, bonds and related fixed income instruments. Founded in 2018,
Agora works with issuers, dealers and market infrastructure providers to digitise
institutional capital-markets workflows.
About Jean-Luc Lamarque
Jean-Luc Lamarque is a capital markets leader with more than 30 years of international
experience across investment banking, primary markets and credit. He held senior
leadership positions at Credit Agricole CIB, including Global Head of Syndicate, alongside
broader leadership responsibilities across Global Primary Markets, and has worked
extensively with financial institutions, issuers and market infrastructure organisations
across Europe, the US and Asia. He served on the Board of the International Capital Market
Association (ICMA), including as Chair of the Board. He now works as an independent
Senior Adviser on market structure, strategy and change.
