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Greece
Eurobank
Scores do not come much better than this. Clients are so happy
that none of them has a complaint to air or a point to make. Tak-
en as a whole, the average weighted scores represent an advance
of nearly a tenth on the already outstanding returns Eurobank
earned last year. In just one service area do they fall below the
line that separates the good from the very good – in the predict-
able field of pricing. Even on that narrow question, Eurobank is
further ahead of the global benchmark than the local one.
BNP Paribas Securities Services
“Very strong support and responsiveness,” is how one client
describes BNP Paribas in Athens. “Perfect knowledge of their
market.” Certainly, the bank delivers another powerful riposte to
anyone who thinks the travails of the Greek economy and stock
market have blunted the edge of what was always one of the
most client-focused and responsive operations in its sub-cus-
tody. The average scores, which in the round mark an advance
on last year, dip only when it comes to fees and charges and
spreads. The score for asset-servicing could be better, with one
respondent complaining of late corporate action notifications.
Piraeus Bank Securities Services
Piraeus has lived the Greek economic and financial crisis as
vividly as any corporate institution in the country, having spent
the last six years at the centre of the restructuring of the Greek
banking industry. Finding foreign portfolio investors to service
through the Greek crisis – especially after Greece dropped out
of the MSCI developed market index in 2013 – was inevitably
challenging, but these scores are rich reward for perseverance.
Though they cannot match the exceptional scores of a year ago,
only the less impressive scores for risk management and pricing
will concern Piraeus.
National Bank of Greece
The securities services division of NBG returns to the survey
after a two-year absence. The scoring, by a relatively small group
of international clients, is somewhat capricious. Deep appre-
ciation of the people is evident in outstanding scores for client
service and relationship management, but clients also indicate
a need for investment in new technology and fresh approaches,
and for improvements to treasury services. The details indicate
a high degree of confidence in the future, but NBG will not want
to keep well-disposed clients waiting too long.
Citi
Citi has good claim to be the largest custodian in the Greek
market, and the leading conduit for institutional flows into the
Greek market, but only a handful of clients of its local clearing and
custody operation have responded. The collective verdict is con-
sistent but noticeably less flattering than it was a year ago. This is
consistent with the local mood. Capital flows have revived in the
latter part of this year, but the Athens stock market has had a less
than vintage year. That said, the scores area also congruent with
the overall performance of Citi throughout the survey.
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SCORES
Eurobank
Piraeus Bank
Securities Services
BNP Paribas
National Bank of
Greece
Citi
Share of validated responses (%) 16% 18% 45% 9% 11%
Relationship management 6.22 6.33 5.76 5.33 4.23
Market Average Global Average
5.58 5.30
Client service 6.96 6.33 5.71 5.20 4.91 5.78 5.56
Account management 6.73 5.68 5.14 5.46 4.66 5.46 5.14
Asset safety 6.88 6.00 4.25 3.56 4.75 4.90 4.60
Risk management 6.52 4.85 5.79 6.14 4.75 5.72 5.50
Liquidity management 6.86 6.11 6.02 4.54 4.53 5.74 5.14
Regulation and compliance 6.92 n/a 5.30 4.18 4.88 5.32 4.84
Innovation 5.87 5.64 5.10 4.10 4.25 5.03 4.75
Asset servicing 6.90 5.08 5.87 5.29 4.51 5.64 5.52
Pricing 6.30 4.96 5.68 5.96 4.12 5.52 5.28
Technology 6.97 5.50 5.36 4.71 5.17 5.56 5.41
Cash management and FX 6.95 6.20 5.54 2.89 5.35 5.57 5.42
Total 6.58 5.52 5.47 5.02 4.63 5.49 5.23
68
Global Custodian
Winter 2018