Africa—Rand Merchant Bank
On the African continent, Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) strives to exceed the expectations of its clients by combining high levels of service with an exceptional technological platform to deliver effective sub-custody solutions covering all elements of trade transactions, as well as reporting and analytics. With the success of this approach, RMB is our regional winner in Africa and country winner in South Africa. RMB is a division of FirstRand Bank, one of Africa’s largest banking groups. Its custody franchise extends to Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia, and Nigeria.
One of RMB’s key strengths is its ability to adapt to its clients’ needs, continually identifying and implementing insightful and tailored offerings. This involves maintaining close contact to promptly resolve trade and operational inquiries and deliver ongoing insight into evolving market dynamics. RMB’s highly experienced management team is well represented on industry committees and in regulatory forums to shape new standards, practices, and regulations, providing its clients with strategic and operational guidance resulting from the latest market developments.
The bank aligns its systems and protocols with global market practices and Swift standards for automated custody services. Clients benefit from a robust core custody system powered by the BaNCS platform that provides comprehensive post-trade capabilities with streamlined trade settlement, registration, extensive market connectivity, and efficient automation for high rates of straight-through processing with trade transactions.
RMB’s Custody Online interface complements the BaNCS system and lets users manage trade settlements, respond to corporate action events, and access holdings and transaction records in compliance with ISO15022 Swift standards. The bank is transitioning its Custody Online interface to a new version that will support cloud computing, application programming interface (API) integration, and the advanced Swift ISO 20022 messaging protocol. Additionally, this suite of custody services is integrated with the bank’s transaction banking and foreign exchange offerings to ensure seamless management of custody-related transactions.
Beyond its local footprint, its custody business is complemented through a 14-year partnership with J.P. Morgan for regional and global custody outside South Africa, with access to over 100 jurisdictions.
Asia-Pacific—DBS
With its extensive Asia-Pacific franchise and broad range of services, DBS retains the title of Best Sub-Custodian Bank in the region. By leveraging a data-driven operating model integrated into the bank’s management and client-servicing processes, DBS continues to pioneer innovative solutions for clients across its footprint, including Singapore and India—in both of which DBS is also the country winner—as well as Hong Kong, Indonesia, and China.
The bank’s ongoing technological investment provides clients with increased operational efficiencies on its custody platform. This includes greater automation, as DBS implemented an enhanced cash-funding module to create more-efficient workstreams in more than 40 markets. Now, trade settlement and cash exchange are settled without manual intervention and include automated reconciliation, reducing operational risk.
Clients benefit from a robust central custody system, with the DBS Ideal Securities digital platform to manage their securities positions and transactions through a comprehensive dashboard displaying trade information and functionality along with corporate actions and customized reporting capability.
Additionally, DBS upgraded its fund-accounting platform with the latest version of Multifonds to ensure clients have the most powerful services available. DBS is at the center of a significant linkage between the Singapore Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange, as the custodian of the first joint offering of ETFs on the exchanges.
The bank also implemented a new fund-services platform in the Singapore, Hong Kong, and Indonesia markets, creating new product capabilities for handling complex fund structures, improving processing time and operational risk management.
DBS is the first Asian bank to offer custody for five asset classes: equities, bonds, funds, securities tokens, and cryptocurrencies. DBS has a competitive advantage in the growing digital asset sector. The expansion of digital assets represents a growth opportunity for DBS as the bank offers secure solutions for administering and storing digital assets, including bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, and ripple. This includes access to an online portal to view holdings and transactions, cybersecurity risk management, and dedicated account and client service managers. These digital asset clients also benefit from seamless integration with DBS Digital Exchange, the bank’s platform offering institutional investors greater exposure to digital assets, including digital offerings of security tokens and secondary trading of digital assets by institutional investors.
Central and Eastern Europe—Unicredit
With its longstanding commitment to the region through a diligent focus on high service levels, UniCredit repeats as the Best Sub-Custodian Bank in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Serving this market for over 30 years, UniCredit leverages a flexible operating model and a strong team culture to deliver a comprehensive range of post-trade services that reflect the bank’s themes of client focus, digitalization, risk management, and workforce development. The result is a highly responsive management team that serves unique customer requirements by developing innovative products. This approach is designed to expand UniCredit’s strong regional market share in servicing foreign and domestic institutional clients, by securing new custody mandates and expanding existing relationships.
The bank targets global custodians, investment banks, and domestic financial institutions as core clients. It offers a single entry point for foreign investors doing business in each of the bank’s CEE franchises and domestic institutional clients that invest in other CEE countries. UniCredit is the country winner in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovenia. Its estimated market share ranges from approximately 36% to 90%. The bank’s franchise also extends to Croatia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, and Turkey.
This success can be attributed to a significant competitive advantage, gained through the bank’s versatile servicing model. This model involves a direct model providing efficient market access to each of the countries it serves and a hub model involving a single point of entry, with one UniCredit counterparty in Austria offering operational and onboarding efficiencies with one relationship manager and with central product specialists having local expertise.
UniCredit continues demonstrating product and process enhancements to improve post-trade settlement and risk management while constantly adapting to regulatory developments. This is accomplished by the ongoing migration to an upgraded custody system, BaNCS, now operational in eight of the bank’s 10 CEE markets. The system increases post-trade transaction efficiency, mitigates operational risk, and ensures compliance with industry standards and evolving regulatory requirements. The flexibility of this platform also allows the bank to better tailor solutions for unique client needs, and UniCredit works closely with clients to realize operational synergies with their systems.
Latin America—Citi
In Latin America, Citi retains the top sub-custodian title not only on the strength of its exceptional service model, which includes a powerful proprietary custody platform, but also from its commitment to the ongoing development of the custody infrastructure across the region. Citi is a strong advocate for the sector as a trusted adviser to clients, market participants, and regulators. In addition to this regional award, Citi is recognized as our country winner in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, and Peru, and offers comprehensive services in Brazil. Citi’s commitment is evidenced by numerous country initiatives involving operational and structural enhancements. Citi’s network is prepared to operate across all jurisdictions as the region’s countries become increasingly connected.
A major initiative, called “nuam,” involves the integration of regional exchanges in Chile, Colombia, and Peru. Citi is leveraging its physical presence and leadership in all three markets by assisting in implementing this plan to create a single trading platform. This integration includes a technology partnership with Nasdaq and an expected launch in the second quarter of 2025. Further, Citi advocated for postponing the implementation date of the migration to the T+1 settlement cycle in these countries to coincide with the expected 2025 nuam launch, to allow time for addressing the potential impacts of this change.
In Argentina, Citi introduced new features to its internal Citidocs application to fully automate cash instructions and ensure funds are available before processing transactions. This allows greater volumes of straight-through processing of trades, eliminating manual elements and reducing delays. Citibanamex actively participates in market associations to represent client interests in the Mexican market on initiatives including tax withholding on dividend payments, and with the new shortened settlement cycle, as Mexico, Canada, and the US moved from T+2 to T+1 in late May. The local central securities depository (CSD) in Panama is modernizing its core system for greater automation of transactions by the end of 2024. Citi is collaborating to align with the new platform. Citi Brazil continues to streamline workflows, with improved prematching of equity trades in real time by automating manual touch points, thereby reducing risk and accelerating transaction processing. The bank also implemented API connectivity with the Brazilian Depository Receipt depositories, resulting in a faster and more transparent process.
Middle East—First Abu Dhabi Bank
In the Middle East, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) continues to build on its position as one of the region’s largest and most capable direct custody providers through investments in infrastructure and new product capabilities. In addition to claiming the top spot in the region again, FAB is once again our country winner in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Its franchise also covers Oman and Egypt, with services in Qatar expected to begin by 2025.
For custody providers, process automation is essential for operational efficiency in the post-trade value chain. FAB clients benefit from a robust online client custody portal with high levels of functionality, customization, and reporting features for effective monitoring and risk management of the settlement process.
The bank has also strengthened its team with key management appointments, adding strong regional and global expertise. To broaden its product line and boost its franchise, the bank is moving aggressively to capture new fund business by launching MENA Securities Services for Asset Managers, an integrated suite of robust post-trade services focused on asset managers based in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The new platform offers unique features for real-time securities servicing across the largest direct-custody network in the region. It includes middle office support from the bank’s partnership with State Street to provide world-class fund accounting services.
FAB is also the settlement bank for the Tabadul platform, the region’s first digital exchange hub, which provides a trading network with regional exchanges in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Jordan, and Oman. Advancing the custody sector is a key priority for FAB. Its commitment to the Middle East region is unrivaled, and it has strong connections with industry participants and regulatory bodies.
The bank continues to advocate for its clients across a range of initiatives. In the United Arab Emirates, this includes harmonizing capital requirements and extending margin trading. FAB has lobbied to eliminate minimum asset requirements for foreign investors and improve Swift connectivity in Saudi Arabia. FAB is also collaborating with local regulators to implement a delivery-versus-payment model in Bahrain.
North America—CIBC Mellon
With deep resources and outstanding post-trade capabilities, CIBC Mellon is again recognized as the winner in North America and in Canada. In addition to custody, CIBC Mellon’s investment-servicing solutions also provide clients with multicurrency accounting, fund administration, recordkeeping, pension services, securities-lending services, foreign exchange settlement, and treasury services. Scale and automation are critical elements for a sub-custodian to deliver efficiency and security in the settlement process.
CIBC Mellon continues to refine its business model by leveraging the most advanced technology. As the product of a 50/50 joint venture between BNY Mellon’s and CIBC, significant resources are available that contribute to infrastructure and process enhancements for the automation and standardization of services.
One example is CIBC Mellon’s adoption of BNY’s Nexen digital information-delivery platform, which uses data analytics services to help clients by giving faster, real-time cash position and activity reporting through an improved interface for easier access from any mobile device. The firm continues to bring BNY’s technological advancements into global custody by using trade analytics to reduce the impact of trades that settle late. As millions of trades are settled each month, there are significant costs associated with late settlement. To help determine the probability of a trade settling late, CIBC Mellon uses a predictive AI engine, thus increasing market efficiency and cost savings for clients.
Leveraging data analytics is a priority. CIBC Mellon’s recently announced strategic collaboration with Duco, a leading software-as-a-service provider of AI-powered data automation, will contribute to lowering operational risk and streamlining processes for greater efficiency.
In the Canadian market, CIBC Mellon has an automated link to multiple reporting and processing systems of the Canadian Depository for Securities (CDS) for securities clearing and depository services. CIBC Mellon’s system performs a match function on trades, whereby a trade is automatched and confirmed with CDS as soon as it is authorized in the custody system. If matched, trades automatically settle in the custody system, and the securities and cash positions are updated automatically on the settlement date.
Western Europe—BNP Paribas
Global banking giant BNP Paribas (BNP) offers a comprehensive range of world-class services for all post-trade client needs, with tailored and flexible services, and wins again this year as the Best Sub-Custodian Bank in Western Europe. Additionally, BNP is again the country winner in Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, while also serving France and Germany.
With $14 trillion in assets under custody, BNP is the largest securities servicer in Europe and a top-five player globally through a proprietary network in 27 countries. BNP continues to expand the custody franchise as part of the overall group’s 2025 strategic plan around growth, technology, and sustainability themes. This involves strengthening service offerings, developing partnerships, and increasing data and digital initiatives.
At the heart of BNP’s service model is NeoLink, a leading system offering digital banking services for institutional clients, including custody, clearing, cash management, asset and fund administration, market and financing services, and alternative investments. The platform is highly customizable to adapt to unique post-trade requirements, simplifying workflows and reporting. Connectivity between NeoLink and client systems provides a seamless gateway to BNP applications as part of its service model.
The bank actively solicits client assessments, and NeoLink was recently redesigned using this valuable client feedback. The bank recently upgraded the platform with a new user interface, an extended digital portfolio of solutions, embedded fintech services, an API store, and AI features, for an enhanced client experience.
Also, BNP continues to expand its centralized booking model through the Paris office, which provides direct access to multiple markets, with six CSDs across Europe and the administrative advantage of contracting with only one legal entity.
Other initiatives include expanding the capabilities of its CapLink Private platform for unlisted investments, in addition to existing features like benchmarking; risk analysis; forecasting; and environmental, social, and governance scoring, to align portfolios with responsible practices to guide better investment decisions.
