Global Custody News - 04 April 2025

In partnership with

📰 Welcome to the Newsletter

Welcome to Global Custody Pro! I'm Brennan McDonald, Managing Editor. I write about the global custody industry based on my 12+ years in financial services, including working at a leading global custodian. Have feedback? Just reply to this email or connect with us on LinkedIn.

You received this because you subscribed to Global Custody Pro. If someone forwarded this to you, subscribe using the link below.

Table of Contents

• 🌏 Global Custody News

• 🚀 Digital Asset News

🌏 Global Custody News

• ASX faces heightened regulatory scrutiny after Australian regulators downgraded ASX Clear and ASX Settlement's operational risk rating following a December 20, 2024 CHESS batch settlement failure. The Reserve Bank of Australia lowered the rating from "partly observed" to "not observed," while ASIC ordered ASX to undergo an expert technical review within 150 days. RBA Governor Michele Bullock described the situation as "deeply disappointing" and ASIC Chair Joe Longo called it "troubling." The failure, attributed to memory allocation logic issues, disrupted the cash equities market settlement process, raising concerns about Australia's financial infrastructure stability. ASX Managing Director Helen Lofthouse acknowledged the incident while highlighting the company's technology modernization efforts. Regulators warned of potential additional measures under September 2024 reforms if issues aren't urgently addressed.

• FIS has launched its Securities Finance Matching Platform in the U.S. as an alternative trading system that uses smart automated matching to optimize connections between securities lenders and borrowers. FIS plans to expand the platform geographically following its successful U.K. launch in 2024 and recent completion of SEC filing requirements in the U.S.

• Nexus Global Payments (NGP) has been incorporated in Singapore as a not-for-profit organization to manage the Nexus cross-border instant payment scheme, transitioning the initiative from a BIS Innovation Hub project to implementation, the company announced on Thursday.

• FINMA has announced an organizational restructuring effective April 1, 2025, creating a new "Integrated Risk Expertise" division led by Marianne Bourgoz Gorgé while merging the "Asset Management" and "Markets" divisions under Léonard Bôle. CEO Stefan Walter stated the changes aim to enhance preventive supervision with maximum impact while maintaining risk-based oversight. Executive Board member Birgit Rutishauser will depart, with Vera Carspecken assuming interim leadership of the Insurance division from May 1, 2025.

• Cboe Clear Europe has launched a central clearing service for European Securities Financing Transactions in cash equities and ETFs, with Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking and J.P. Morgan completing the first trades. The service transforms bilateral processes into a centrally cleared model to increase capital efficiencies and reduce operational complexities amid evolving regulatory requirements. BNY and J.P. Morgan are serving as Tri-Party Collateral Agents for the service across 19 European CSDs, with Pirum managing trade instructions and post-trade events.

• Euroclear Bank's Collateral Management Services has integrated Taskize's collaboration platform, which includes email and Symphony Messaging connectivity, to improve query resolution and communication across operational departments. The system facilitates information sharing between stakeholders using various communication technologies, allowing for more efficient collateral management processes. Euroclear representatives stated that Taskize provides consistent engagement while helping to reduce costs and risks.

• DTCC has appointed two new members to its Board of Directors: Cenk Kamis, Chief Financial Officer for Citi N.A. and Head of Finance Transformation for Citi, and Laide Majiyagbe, Managing Director and Global Head of Financing, Liquidity and Collateral at BNY. Both new appointees bring valuable expertise to DTCC, with Kamis offering over 20 years of financial services experience and Majiyagbe contributing specialized knowledge in liquidity, financing, and collateral management.

• Eurex has announced organizational changes effective April 1, 2025, with Matthias Graulich leading Global Products & Markets and Jens Quiram heading Global Sales & Marketing, both consolidating efforts across multiple asset classes including Equity/Index, Fixed Income, Currency and Repo. Melanie Dannheimer joins the Eurex Frankfurt AG Executive Board as Chief Control Officer while Robbert Booij becomes Head of Financial Derivatives, as Dr. Randolf Roth departs after 26 years but will continue as a strategic adviser.

• The Hong Kong Monetary Authority's half-year financial stability report revealed that Mainland investors made net purchases of HK$625.0 billion through Southbound Stock Connect from late August 2024 to February 2025, bringing cumulative net buying through this cross-border channel to HK$3,976.9 billion. The report also highlighted significant growth in daily RMB Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) turnover in Hong Kong, which increased from RMB2,063.6 billion in 2023 to RMB3,097.5 billion in 2024, representing a substantial year-on-year growth of just over 50%.

• Athens Exchange Group reported strong financial results for 2024 with annual turnover increasing 15.3% to €54.3 million and net profit rising 33.1% to €17.3 million. The Greek bourse operator's EBITDA grew 24.7% to €23.7 million, supported by higher trading volumes and €2.2 billion in capital raising on its markets, representing a 26.4% year-on-year increase. ATHEXGROUP has proposed a dividend of €0.29 per share for 2024, 21% higher than the previous year, reflecting confidence amid growing market capitalization and ongoing efforts toward potential reclassification to "Developed Market" status.

• The Financial Stability Board has created a Forum on Cross-Border Payments Data to resolve inconsistencies in global data frameworks that hamper international payments. This new initiative, based on recommendations from December 2024, will gather experts from payments, anti-money laundering, sanctions, and data privacy sectors to improve how payment data is handled across borders. The Forum, which will be chaired by Bank of Italy's Gianmatteo Piazza and include a private sector advisory body, will first meet in May.

• Brazil's stock exchange B3 has signed agreements with Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges to join ETF Connect, allowing mutual listing of exchange-traded funds between Brazil and China. The program will initially permit Chinese index-tracking ETFs to trade on B3 and Brazilian Ibovespa-based ETFs to list in China, with Banco Bradesco and Itaú Asset Management already in discussions with Chinese counterparts. Brazil is the first non-Asian country to join China's ETF Connect initiative, which currently connects ETFs between China and markets including Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

• TMX Group is transforming its post-trade services from low-growth utilities into strategic growth engines, with President Luc Fortin highlighting the modernization of the CDS clearing system and Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation. The Post-Trade Modernization initiative, launching April 28, will replace older infrastructure with modern technology that enables new offerings. These innovations address gaps in Canada's money markets and will convert post-trade operations from "byproducts of trading" into revenue-generating businesses contributing to TMX's growth strategy.

Don't miss crypto's most influential event

Consensus is the world’s longest-running gathering of the global crypto, blockchain, and AI communities.

Curated by CoinDesk and celebrated as ‘The Super Bowl of Blockchain’, Consensus will host North America’s biggest industry-wide event in Toronto this May 14-16. This flagship festival will welcome 20,000 builders, investors, policymakers, and pioneers shaping the future of the decentralized digital economy.

Ready to invest in what’s next? Consensus is your best bet to unlock market-moving intel, make meaningful connections and get business done. You can’t afford to miss it.

Register & Save 20% with BEEHIIV

🚀 Digital Asset News

• DTCC has launched a new digital collateral management platform using AppChain financial infrastructure, representing the first institutional-grade application of blockchain for real-time collateral operations. The platform aims to increase global collateral mobility, improve capital efficiencies, and enable an open ecosystem for digital applications, with DTCC Global Head of Digital Assets Nadine Chakar emphasizing its ability to enable "real-world, institutional-grade digital collateral market infrastructure." DTCC will demonstrate this new platform, which leverages DTCC ComposerX and LF Decentralized Trust's Besu blockchain, at "The Great Collateral Experiment" on April 23 as part of its Digital Launchpad ecosystem.

• SIX has introduced a Digital Assets Regulatory & Tax Service that provides financial institutions with a comprehensive data package for monitoring over 80,000 crypto-related instruments against evolving regulatory and tax requirements. The daily updated tool covers key regulations including MiCA, MiFID, OECD's CARF, and IRS Form 1099-DA, while also tracking traditional financial assets linked to cryptocurrency in alignment with Hong Kong's virtual assets framework.

• The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has issued new guidance allowing FDIC-supervised banks to engage in crypto-related activities without prior approval, reversing its previous 2022 position. Acting Chairman Travis Hill described this regulatory shift as "turning the page on the flawed approach of the past three years," emphasizing that banks may participate in permissible activities involving crypto-assets and blockchain technology provided they implement appropriate risk management measures. The FDIC plans to work with other banking agencies to develop updated interagency guidance or regulations for crypto-related banking activities, with Hill indicating this represents the first of several anticipated regulatory changes.

• Apex Group Ltd has launched the first tokenized fund share class on the Polygon Labs blockchain from Malta, representing a significant advancement in converting traditional fund shares into security tokens. Country Head Omar Cascun emphasized that this innovation enables near-instantaneous transaction settlement, transparent record-keeping, and increased investor access through fractional ownership, positioning Apex Malta at the forefront of the country's fund administration transformation. The initiative responds to growing global momentum in asset tokenization.

• ICE and Circle announced a memorandum of understanding on March 27, 2025, to explore incorporating Circle's stablecoins USDC and USDY into ICE's markets across its derivatives exchanges, clearinghouses, and data services. Circle's USDC, a digital currency pegged to the US dollar with over $60 billion in circulation as of March 26, is backed by cash and cash-equivalent assets, making it redeemable 1:1 for US dollars.

• Northern Trust has been appointed by Haycen Bermuda Ltd, a trade finance stablecoin solution provider, to deliver global custody and money market fund services, with Northern Trust providing custody for Haycen's client fiat deposits and Northern Trust Asset Management handling cash sweep services. Ian Hamilton from Northern Trust highlighted the company's ability to combine custody business stability with an innovative approach to the industry's future.

© Global Custody Pro. Published by Digital Content Operations LLC. All Rights Reserved. This newsletter was edited by Brennan McDonald.