SEC Talks Crypto Clarity & Euronext CSD Shift

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📰 Welcome to the Newsletter

Good morning from Global Custody Pro and welcome to all new subscribers! Each week, we break down the most important developments in global custody, clearing, payments, and digital assets - so you don’t have to. Let’s dive into this week’s top stories.

Table of Contents

• 🌏 Global Custody News

• 🚀 Digital Asset News

• 📊 Chart Of The Week

• 📣 Quote of the Week

• 🎧 What We’re Listening To

• 📺 What We’re Watching

PS: Reply to this email if there’s a story you think we’ve missed - Brennan

🌏 Global Custody News

• Euronext announced it will designate Euronext Securities as the Central Securities Depository (CSD) for settling equity trades from its Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris markets starting September 2026, a significant step in its Innovate for Growth 2027 strategy. This move aims to reduce post-trade fragmentation across Europe, simplify settlement processes, and enhance market liquidity and accessibility. The consolidation will allow clients to streamline operations ahead of Europe's planned transition to a T+1 settlement cycle in October 2027.

• SEC Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda highlighted the evolving U.S. Treasury market structure, underscoring the increased importance of alternative trading systems (ATS) and urging updated regulatory oversight, including registration requirements and better disclosures. Speaking at the Institute of International Bankers conference, Uyeda emphasized the need for increased central clearing to manage risks effectively in Treasury trading, noting recent SEC actions to extend implementation deadlines for mandatory central clearing of Treasuries to avoid market disruptions.

• SIX reported a 4.6% rise in operating income to CHF 1.6 billion in 2024, driven by solid performance across its business units, while EBITDA increased 4.8% to CHF 443.7 million at constant exchange rates. Net profit fell to CHF 38.7 million due to a CHF 167.7 million non-cash adjustment related to its stake in payments firm Worldline, though adjusted net profit rose 12.3% to CHF 204.4 million. The Swiss financial infrastructure group also announced a three-year strategy to boost mid-single-digit income growth and lift its profit margin from 28% to over 40% by 2027, including cost reductions exceeding CHF 120 million. CEO Bjørn Sibbern highlighted plans to strengthen SIX’s position in European capital markets and expand its global data offerings amid growing competition.

• Vijay Chandok, managing director and CEO of India's NSDL, has been appointed to the executive board of the International Securities Services Association (ISSA), succeeding Padmaja Chunduru, NSDL's former managing director and CEO. Chandok, previously head of ICICI Securities, brings extensive experience in banking and financial markets to ISSA.

• Glass Lewis, a leading provider of corporate governance data and proxy voting services, will acquire Stockholm-based Esgaia, a technology platform that helps institutional investors manage investment stewardship data and workflows. The acquisition accelerates Glass Lewis’ strategy to integrate corporate governance research, proxy voting, and issuer engagement into a single platform, particularly benefiting clients in Europe and Australia. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the deal is pending regulatory approval.

• Speaking at a Wolfe Research conference, Broadridge CFO Ashima Ghei emphasized the fintech firm's growth strategy, particularly highlighting the capital markets franchise as a significant growth driver alongside its governance and wealth management segments. The capital markets business, which generates around $1 billion in annual revenue, aims to streamline trading operations for banks and asset managers through comprehensive front-to-back-office solutions, benefiting from industry trends such as shorter settlement cycles and increased market volatility.

• A review by SGX RegCo and the NUS Business School's Centre for Governance and Sustainability (CGS) found most listed issuers have started climate reporting, with 97% providing at least one disclosure aligned with TCFD recommendations, up from 73% in 2023. All issuers from mandated industries provided TCFD disclosures, but only 36% fully complied with SGX RegCo's requirements. SGX RegCo CEO Tan Boon Gin highlighted the need for greater support to issuers preparing for the new International Sustainability Standards Board standards, while NUS's Professor Lawrence Loh emphasized that stronger climate disclosures are crucial for businesses' long-term resilience and competitiveness in transitioning to a low-carbon economy.

• India's derivatives market holds significant growth potential, with ISDA Chief Executive Scott O'Malia highlighting India's economic strength and ongoing regulatory progress in remarks at the India Derivatives Markets Forum in Mumbai. O'Malia praised the Reserve Bank of India's efforts in enhancing market safety through enforceable close-out netting laws, central clearing, and recent implementation of variation margin requirements. He emphasized the importance of the upcoming April 1 initial margin (IM) rules for non-cleared derivatives, noting ISDA's collaboration with the RBI on substituted compliance and standardizing IM calculations. While optimistic about market development, he pointed out outstanding operational challenges, including potential disputes over margin calculations and the need for alignment in custodial arrangements.

• FINRA ordered Robinhood Financial to pay $3.75 million in restitution to customers and imposed a combined fine of $26 million on Robinhood Financial and Robinhood Securities over violations related to anti-money laundering, supervisory failures, and inadequate disclosures. Robinhood settled without admitting or denying wrongdoing and agreed to address and remediate the identified issues. FINRA's investigation found Robinhood had provided misleading information about order execution practices, failed to detect suspicious trading activity, inadequately supervised its clearing system during periods of high market volatility, and failed to monitor promotional content from social media influencers.

• Australia's Payments System Board (PSB) discussed significant operational risks following a major disruption to the CHESS equities settlement system on 20 December 2024, attributing the incident to aging infrastructure at the ASX and pledging a regulatory response by month's end. The board also expressed concerns over the planned decommissioning of Australia's primary account-to-account payments system (BECS) by 2030, highlighting potential risks to critical payment services, and called for industry collaboration with government and regulators to develop a robust successor system.

🚀 Digital Asset News

• Clearstream, part of Deutsche Börse Group, will launch a crypto custody and settlement service for institutional clients in April, using Crypto Finance as sub-custodian. The new service enables institutional investors to use existing Clearstream accounts for custody and settlement of cryptocurrencies, initially covering Bitcoin and Ethereum, following Crypto Finance's receipt of Europe's MiCAR license earlier this year. Clearstream's move into crypto assets aims to blend innovation with regulatory compliance, simplifying access via established financial market systems like SWIFT and without additional contracts. This collaboration positions Deutsche Börse Group prominently in the expanding digital asset market.

• The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing on March 11, 2025, examining payment stablecoins and their potential role in modernizing the digital payments ecosystem. Witnesses from BNY, Paxos, Stripe, Davis Polk & Wardwell, and the Atlantic Council testified on stablecoins' applications in remittances, cross-border transactions, trade settlements, and business payments.

• The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) confirmed that national banks and federal savings associations are permitted to offer crypto custody services, engage in certain stablecoin activities, and participate in blockchain networks such as distributed ledger technology, removing prior supervisory approval requirements. The OCC emphasized that banks must maintain robust risk management controls for these cryptocurrency activities, consistent with traditional banking practices, and stated that this policy shift aims to simplify banks' participation in crypto markets by ensuring regulatory consistency.

• Cantor Fitzgerald selected Anchorage Digital Bank, the sole U.S. federally chartered digital asset bank, as custodian and collateral manager for its new Bitcoin financing business, launching with an initial $2 billion. Anchorage Digital will securely hold Bitcoin collateral, track collateral values, manage reporting, and mitigate counterparty risk for Cantor Fitzgerald's counterparties. The partnership represents a significant advancement in blending traditional finance with digital assets, emphasizing regulated and secure custody solutions.

• German fintech companies 21X and Cashlink Technologies have announced a strategic collaboration to advance tokenized securities trading in Germany, taking advantage of regulatory developments under the country's electronic securities act (eWpG). Max Heinzle, CEO of 21X, described the alliance as bringing together "two market leaders to unlock the full potential of tokenized securities," while Michael Duttlinger, CEO of Cashlink, highlighted the partnership's ability to create "a powerful force that will reshape the financial landscape and unlock unprecedented opportunities for both asset managers and brokers."

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Crypto Task Force will launch a series of roundtable discussions titled “Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity” starting March 21, to examine regulatory issues surrounding crypto assets. The first roundtable, "How We Got Here and How We Get Out – Defining Security Status," will be moderated by Troy Paredes of Paredes Strategies and feature experts including Collins Belton of Brookwood P.C., Sarah Brennan of Delphi Ventures, and Chris Brummer from Georgetown Law, among others.

📊 Chart Of The Week

📣 Quote of the Week

🎧 What We’re Listening To

📺 What We’re Watching

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