20 July 2015

Standard Bank Group has been awarded "Custodian of the Year" at the annual Imbasa Yegolide Awards presented by Batseta, the Council of Retirement Funds for South Africa. A custodian is a financial institution offering trade settlement, safekeeping of assets and corporate event processing.

Charl Bruyns, Head of Investor Services South Africa at Standard Bank Group, says: "We are delighted to be acknowledged for a sixth consecutive year by Batseta, which represents a core part of the local retirement fund industry. The award solidifies our position as the leading provider of custody and related investor services products to our clients."

Standard Bank Group has the largest market share of the South African custody market, which is valued at approximately R11-trillion, making it the largest custodian in Africa. In addition to the core services, Standard Bank Group also provides pension funds with bespoke master recordkeeping, securities lending and transition management solutions.

These services are designed to assist pension funds with:

  • Capital preservation
  • Enhancing portfolio returns
  • Risk management and regulatory reporting
  • Reducing the burdens of investment administration.

While challenges on the continent exist given the consistently changing market infrastructure and regulatory requirements, Standard Bank's focus on developing the market and growing its Africa custody offering through investing in skills and technology, coupled with expanding existing partnerships, has proven successful.

Says Mr Bruyns: "Standard Bank now has coverage across 109 markets where our pension fund clients can invest in, while being serviced from Johannesburg. Our business is supported by an integrated technology platform that includes a dual site processing model.

"As a leading African financial institution we believe Standard Bank is well positioned to assist companies with their asset servicing and banking needs and partner with them in facilitating their growth."

To read more about our custodian services and other services for corporates, see http://www.standardbank.com/cib.

distributed by