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Canada
RBC Investor Services
RBC attracted slightly more responses than its principal rival
in Toronto. The obvious strengths of a AA-rated bank with a
well-advertised aversion to excessive risk-taking are visible in
the details of the scoring of asset safety and risk management.
The reputation of the bank for client service is one of equal
longstanding, and it is obvious that clients find their day-to-day
dealings with the bank more than satisfactory. “Always very
responsive to meet our needs,” writes one respondent. A second
says his form always receives “great support from [the] client
support team,” while a third confirms that “service is good.”
A similar appreciation of the quality of contacts is evident in
compliance, where a dedicated governance and regulatory solu-
tions team is clearly impressing clients. “RBC is pro-active and
informs us of any changes in the rules,” says a client. Another
notes that the bank is “always communicating relevant informa-
tion.” The average scores also conceal the fact that the product
and consulting teams are winning plaudits for innovation. The
bank can be pleased that its efforts to stay aligned with clients
and ply clients the with useful information rather than volumes
of data. Even the apparently weaker score for relationship man-
agement, in fact, hides a firm belief in the excellence of the RMs.
“Always very helpful and informative when contacted,” confirms
a respondent.
What the detailed scores do indicate is a concern about the
quality of the underlying operations, albeit in asset-servicing
rather than settlement. Greater investment in technology would
help, but investing in the processes by which clients collect their
entitlements in Canada would yield richer dividends sooner,
and make it easier to transition to technology that improved the
client experience as well as cut operational costs and risks.
CIBC Mellon
These are a robust set of scores that are broadly in line with
the overall performance of CIBC Mellon last year. The strong
performance evident last year in both client service and rela-
tionship management continues in 2018, which is fitting for a
bank that seeks as much direct contact with clients as possible.
“Contacts are responsive, timely and always available,” writes a
respondent, though a quantitatively minded client does add that
“we would like to have a SLA/KPI in place for the service we
receive.” Even where the averages dip, the details often indicate
nuance. The underlying scores suggest that clients are extremely
happy with CIBC Mellon as a counterparty – the score for risk
management is outstanding – but need reassurance on the de-
tails of asset safety. When it comes to investing cash and execut-
ing FX transactions, they like the services but would value more
transparency into the costs. However, there are areas where the
client verdict is unequivocal. They would definitely like more
help cutting the capital and collateral costs of doing business.
Citi
The bank did not attract enough responses to warrant a full
assessment. Familiar strengths, such as settlement, credit and
technology, are in evidence.
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SCORES
Market Average Global Average
n/a 4.99 5.20
5.77 n/a 5.33 5.40
5.39 n/a 5.27 5.44
5.32 5.36 n/a 5.34 5.68
5.06 6.10 n/a 5.41 5.46
Liquidity management 4.67 5.02 n/a 4.77 4.89
Regulation and compliance 5.42 6.00 n/a 5.38 5.64
Innovation 4.76 5.08 n/a 4.75 5.18
Asset servicing 4.96 5.61 n/a 5.15 5.09
Pricing 4.56 5.62 n/a 4.79 4.82
Technology 5.01 5.85 n/a 5.28 5.28
Cash management and FX 4.18 4.41 n/a 4.31 4.25
Total 5.03 5.57 n/a 5.13 5.24
RBC Investor Services CIBC Mellon Citi
Market share (% of responses) 61% 34% 5%
Relationship management 4.88 5.53 Client service 5.28 Account management 5.46 Asset safety Risk management
78
Global Custodian
Fall 2018