Data is worth its weight in gold when it comes to the financial markets, and some analytical services stand out from the others. We spoke to Sergey Lyalin, Founder, and Anna Volodina, Conference Producer, CIS & Eurasia Markets, about how Cbonds has been a key player for more than two and a half decades, not just delivering on data, but creating spaces for conversation and collaboration in the market.
Text : Nazareth Seferian Photo : Cbonds
Let’s start by introducing our readers to Cbonds. Sergey, please tell us more about the company. Where did you start, and where are you today?
Sergey: We started Cbonds 25 years ago as a startup project that provided information to customers about corporate bonds. Back then, it was a small market that was just taking shape. We began to grow as a popular source for this information and gradually expanded to other CIS countries. From there, we began to explore developing countries until we extended our coverage to the whole world.
Now, we are a reliable source for all kinds of market-related information, including things like ETFs, mutual funds, derivatives, macro data, indices, corporate ratings, and more. In 25 years, we have managed to grow into a universal aggregator of market data.
That is quite a special milestone you are celebrating this year. Sergey, could you share the emotions that you feel at this significant point in the company’s journey? Do you have a sense of the direction going forward, where do you plan to go and what are you working on?
Sergey: As the founder, I naturally feel a sense of pride at having grown our company from a small startup to a major global data provider. At the moment, we have more than 1 million bonds listed on our platform, 80,000 stocks, 175,000 funds, and so on. In terms of development, there are two directions worth mentioning. First, we are aiming to add more instruments and increase the range of data that we provide for our customers. Last year, for example, we improved our coverage of commodities like precious metals, oil, soft commodities, and so on. We also expanded on macroeconomic data and moved into consensus prognosis, which means we forecast macroeconomic indicators. So, this first direction takes us broader as we expand into new topics. The second direction we are interested in is going deep, with improved analytical instruments. We have launched a portfolio analysis service that allows customers to consider the performance of their holdings against various benchmarks. We are now improving the data we provide on floating coupon bonds, inflation-indexed bonds, and so on. The idea is to give our customers a deeper understanding of the market.
Of course, we are constantly looking to grow our client base. We have clients in 100 countries, with a concentration in Europe, including the United Kingdom, followed by North America, South America, the United Arab Emirates, and some Asian markets. We are also looking forward to growing our regional representation, and our main targets for this are the Americas and some Asian countries.
Let’s take a closer look at the products that Cbonds offer, although you already mentioned several of them. Tell us about the key focus areas of your business. How do you manage to adapt to the changing needs of the market?
Sergey: There are two main product areas that I would like to mention in response to this question.
The first consists of our products for end users, which is mainly our analytical platform—our website, our platforms in various languages, and our apps. Our subscribers in this case consist of financial companies, family offices, hedge funds, and so on, all using our data to analyze and grow their portfolios as well as assess and improve their performance.
The second product area consists of API solutions that go from server to server. These are basically machine-to-machine solutions, not meant for individual users at the other end. This is a promising area with the potential for rapid growth as we see more automation and digitalization. For example, banks have their in-house calculation systems that need up-to-date market data, and our solutions can provide this for them so that their machines can carry out this work consistently and with the necessary quality.
In terms of trends, artificial intelligence (AI) is naturally a big part of our work. At the moment, we see how it helps our customers use natural language searches to find the data that they need. We also know that AI models need large bodies of data to learn and improve their performance, and we believe our company has a big role to play here. We are working with fintech companies to provide data that will help them develop innovative solutions for portfolio analysis, risk management, and so on.
Cbonds recently held its fourth conference in Yerevan, dedicated to the Armenian financial market. Anna, this event seems to have become a favorite with the Armenian market. How did it go?
Anna: We organized the IV Conference Capital Markets Armenia in March this year and it was a big success. We had more than 250 participants from 14 countries, and the event featured 38 speakers. It summarized the main achievements of 2025 and looked forward to new developments in 2026. Importantly, this is not a dry business conference, but an event where the right atmosphere is also created for informal discussion and networking.
One thing I noted from the conference this year is that we were no longer talking about what we need to do in general. We were actually diving deep into the “how” and talking about concrete steps. We now see a lot of local expertise developing; the conference is not just about bringing global experts to this market.
Sergey: I want to chime in on Anna’s assessment of the IV Conference Capital Markets Armenia event. We used to talk about Armenia as a transit hub for finance but the conference this year had a lot of content on the internal market in the country and the opportunities that exist here. This is worth mentioning as a sign of progress, and here is a clear indicator. In 2024, only four non-financial companies had issued bonds in Armenia. In 2025, this number had shot up to fifteen. The process is moving quickly and, in many other markets, we have seen how this snowballs into an unstoppable movement. The important thing is not to overregulate and to help the market maintain momentum.
There is a delicate balancing act here between regulation and allowing too much liberty, so that market remains dynamic but secure at the same time.
Please tell us more about what connects Cbonds to Armenia. You have a physical office here in Yerevan. What role does it play in the company’s development?
Sergey: Our office in Yerevan is part of our global chain of analytical teams. This is how we provide our customers with the coverage that they need. We use the latest technology and AI solutions, but we need human beings behind that system to ensure quality, and the team we have in place in Yerevan since April 2022 is also involved in this crucial work.
When it comes to our presence in this country, I also want to mention the work that we do with the Primavera Foundation of Armenia. This is an excellent nonprofit that helps develop musical talent in the country. They bring experts from the United Kingdom and other countries to coach young musicians. They also provide instruments to young Armenians, giving them access to a world of music, funding them to attend concerts, perform abroad, and so on. We are very proud to be a supporter of this work.
You have a couple of major events coming up in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. What significance do these markets hold for Cbonds at this stage? What topics will be front and center at these upcoming conferences?
Anna: Yes, in June we have the XXII Eurasian Capital Markets Forum in Borovoe, near Astana, Kazakhstan. This is a special location, a picturesque spot near a lake and forest that will facilitate conversations and discussions on a range of topics like macroeconomic scenarios, local markets, and Islamic finance. We expect more than 200 investors, issuers, regulators, and other participants.
Sergey: Kazakhstan is creating a new International Finance Center in Astana, which will have an alternative approach to regulation than the rest of the country. It will be a kind of offshore market, modeled similar to Dubai or Abu Dhabi. There is a lot of interest in this among stakeholders in the region, which is why we chose this venue as the location of the conference.
Anna: Then we have the VIII International Conference—Capital market of the Republic of Uzbekistan, this one is slated for September in Tashkent. This market is rapidly transforming, and we are seeing new infrastructure and instruments here. The event will focus on regulations and institutional changes, digital solutions, and more.
After that, we’re back in Kazakhstan in October for the IX Conference Capital Markets Kazakhstan, this time in Almaty. This event is much more focused on the local market and will feature more practical discussions with the stock market, banks, and so on.
Finally, our events calendar for this year features the XIII Cbonds Fixed Income Conference in Dubai. This one has a global focus and brings players from Asia, Europe, and the Middle East with a focus on the global macroeconomic agenda, structured products, alternative investments, Islamic finance, and more.
The main aim of all these conferences is not just to share knowledge but to create platforms where people can connect, build trust, and move to specific actions.