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United Kingdom
BNP Paribas Securities Services
A decade on from opening in London, BNP Paribas seems more
at home in the London market than any other provider. As it
happens, these scores are more comfortable than compelling,
but clients are convinced where it matters. They believe their
assets are safe, their trades will settle on time, income will be
credited, and even that the corporate action notifications are
better than average. Above all, they are working happily with the
BNP Paribas people. “BNP Paribas provide direct access to their
operations teams rather than a single point of contact,” writes
a client. “This works very well for us and speeds up the turna-
round in responses where time is crucial.” The comments about
the RMs are a better guide to their quality than the score. “It is
of great benefit that the RM has been running our account for
several years, and this continuity of service means they have a
deep understanding of our business,” writes one client. “The RM
is always available and delivers an exceptional service.” A second
adds that it advantageous to have a London-based RM oversee
their global business with BNP Paribas. “The RM is technically
very experienced, plus also demonstrates a good understanding
of our business,” he says.
HSBC
In this habitually under-scoring market, a patchy performance
is good enough to put HSBC ahead of the local benchmarks in
most areas, but the bank shines in no operational sphere. “Too
slow return [of calls],” says a respondent. “Responsibility prob-
lems!” These scores suggest it is chiefly the strength of the bank
as a counterparty and the size of its compliance machine that are
keeping clients engaged.
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche did not impress here last year, and there are more
signs of regression than progress this year. Positive points
include the commonplace (assets are safe) and the unusual
(efficient liquidity management), and clients value an ability to
keep them on the right side of law and regulation. But the basic
settlement and asset-servicing products are not admired by the
average client.
Citi
There is not enough information to make truly confident judg-
ments, but a limited quantity can be illuminating. Many of the
findings are familiar. Citi is good at settlement and credit and
financing, for example, but not so good at asset-servicing or
collateral management. Its prices are competitive but ought to
be lower. Respondents are convinced their cash and securities
are safe and can easily be retrieved, but worry about where their
collateral is held and are unsure what would happen to assets if
the bank failed in this jurisdiction.
BNY Mellon
The global custodian has attracted respondents here since it
acquired the RBS Trust business in London in 1999. There are
not enough to assess the quality of its work properly.
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SCORES
BNP Paribas Citi Deutsche Bank HSBC Citi BNY Mellon
Market share (% of responses) 37% 9% 19% 21% 12% 5%
Relationship management 5.43 4.18 4.41 4.49 n/a Client service 5.12 4.85 4.42 5.10 Account management 5.39 4.24 4.98 5.57 Asset safety 5.61 5.19 5.40 Risk management 4.78 5.20 5.64 Liquidity management 4.67 4.76 Regulation and compliance 5.13 4.63 Innovation 5.41 Asset servicing 4.86 Pricing Technology Market Average Global Average
n/a 4.80 5.20
n/a n/a 4.93 5.40
n/a n/a 5.12 5.44
5.71 n/a n/a 5.52 5.68
5.38 n/a n/a 5.14 5.46
5.71 4.55 n/a n/a 4.78 4.89
5.04 5.91 n/a n/a 5.19 5.64
4.50 4.25 3.81 n/a n/a 4.72 5.18
4.68 4.34 4.71 n/a n/a 4.69 5.09
4.53 4.30 4.12 5.29 n/a n/a 4.68 4.82
5.08 5.37 5.30 5.16 n/a n/a 5.17 5.28
Cash management and FX 3.92 4.90 4.13 4.21 n/a n/a 4.14 4.25
Total 5.04 4.71 4.78 5.05 n/a n/a 4.93 5.24
Fall 2018
globalcustodian.com
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