The U.S. Securities Industry Association and the U.S. Bond Market Association announced that their respective member firms have voted to merge the two organizations to create the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, or SIFMA.

The organizations report that the vote was overwhelmingly in favour of forming the SIFMA to serve as a single voice on legislative, regulatory and market practice issues. The member vote followed approval by the associations’ boards in June. They expect the merger to be completed mid-fourth quarter.

SIFMA will be comprised of three business groups, the Capital Markets Group, the Private Client Group and the Asset Management Group.

A transitional executive committee, co-chaired by Edward Forst of Goldman Sachs and James Gorman of Morgan Stanley (current chairs of BMA and SIA respectively), will serve as the initial governing body for SIFMA through the end of 2006. This committee will nominate a board of directors, the members of which will be announced at SIFMA’s kick-off meeting in Boca Raton, Florida, Nov. 8-10.

The new board of directors will have specific representation from large global firms, middle market and smaller U.S. companies, non-U.S. firms and asset managers to ensure the association fully represents all of its members, they report. In addition to the board of directors, there will be a U.S. Regional Board, European Board and Asian Board designed to address specific constituents’ objectives.

During this transitional period and while a search for a permanent CEO is completed, BMA president and CEO Micah Green and SIA president Marc Lackritz will serve as the co-CEOs of SIFMA.