Custody converges with prime brokerage

Custodians have become one of the few safe havens of the financial markets. If they can manage securities lending without putting assets at risk, their power and influence among clients is set to grow. Helen Avery reports.

IN THE NEW back-to-basics, low-risk-tolerance environment where cash is king, custody has become the surprising darling of financial services. Custodians, having for the most part avoided embarrassing investor losses, with no big blow-ups, have emerged, says Michael Spellacy of Boston Consulting Group “as an independent and trusted man of last resort. Their historical position as an unassailable castle on a hill has been strengthened through this market crisis, and will likely be a net beneficiary of major movements around liquidity and regulation.

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