Global markets in 2024 were defined by volatility, compressed timelines and increased complexity. In a turbulent arena, BNY distinguished itself not just by scale but through innovation and progress, amassing $52.1 trillion in assets under custody, $2.1 trillion in assets under management, with 240 years of market stewardship.
At the heart of its success in 2024 was a shift from transactional execution to true platform integration. Global markets trading revenue rose 27% year-on-year, with gains across FX (+25%), equities (+27%), and fixed income (+27%). Meanwhile, its liquidity and financing division hit multi-year highs, powered by record inflows across agency lending, repo and short-term cash solutions.
A central driver behind BNY’s growth has been a commitment to reducing client friction. From integrating fund flows to digitising collateral and enabling real-time execution, BNY’s platform architecture is built around the client. This is exemplified by its LiquidityDirect platform. Now supporting over 7,000 institutional users and turning over $16 trillion in annual flows, it provides a unified front-end for deposits, money market funds, repo and commercial paper. Recent enhancements – like white-label capabilities, multi-bank integration, ESG-aligned investing via MSCI, and Kyriba/SAP integrations – have made it an indispensable tool across corporate, asset owner and hedge fund clients.
“We talk about the ‘three ones’: one account, one agreement, one wire,” says George Maganas, head of sales and client coverage for the liquidity and financing platform. “Clients used to go to each fund, do KYC, wait for wires – now it’s a single process with full custody and payments integration.”
This vertically integrated model – spanning custody, clearing, payments and financing – is a key differentiator. Whether it’s clearing $5 trillion a day in payments or offering a fortress balance sheet for same-day liquidity, BNY delivers institutional resiliency with user-friendly speed. “We focus and take pride in being commercially resilient across all market cycles,” stresses Maganas. “Our platforms run at scale, but we make them feel personal to every client.”
Infrastructure for the modern buy-side
The firm also delivered some key advances in execution. In 2024, BNY launched BNYX, a unique hosted venue giving institutional clients access to around 1.5% of US equity volume via Pershing’s retail flow. With no need to route through fragmented markets, BNYX is already seeing volumes up nearly 300% since launch. The venue has quickly become a core component of BNY’s algo suite – providing smarter execution while reducing market impact.
Meanwhile, BNY continued expanding its buy-side infrastructure with the launch of CollateralOne, which provides seamless solutions to drive and unlock greater value by interconnecting liquidity, securities finance and collateral to deliver more efficiency for clients. “At its essence, it is about helping the buy-side obtain the same scalability and sophistication traditionally reserved for sell-side players,” says Maganas.
Crucially, BNY’s markets offering is global by design – not just in reach, but in capability
Also in 2024, BNY launched Alts Bridge, designed to simplify adviser access to private and alternative investments. Deeply integrated into advisory platforms like Wove and NetX360+, Alts Bridge curates a broad roster of managers – from Apollo and Carlyle to Blue Owl and Invesco – and digitises the full trade lifecycle. With embedded analytics, education tools, and automated onboarding, it removes long-standing barriers to entry for alternative products.
Data– driven insights
On the research front, BNY’s iFlow continues to set the standard. Leveraging custody flow data representing 20% of global real-money activity, iFlow offers daily to quarterly reports that map investor positioning, sentiment and macro risk. Clients use the platform not only for insights but to run their own analyses via anonymised, near real-time data.
Crucially, BNY’s markets offering is global by design – not just in reach, but in capability. With integrated platforms spanning North America, Europe and APAC, BNY can deliver liquidity, clearing and custody across regions. From sponsored repo to T+1 transition support, the firm is helping clients manage the new world of global trading.
In an industry where most peers still think in product silos, BNY is building seamless, digital platforms that collapse complexity – uniting liquidity, trading, financing and data in a unified experience – and wins Euromoney’s award as world’s best bank for markets.
“Ultimately, we’re trying to improve our clients’ quality of work life,” Maganas says. “We’re solving for the known – and unknown – problems across treasury, trading and operations. And we’re doing it at global scale.”
