Depositary banks, often known as custodian banks or agents, play a crucial role that might not be widely understood or known outside the banking and investment sectors. Essentially, depositary banks are financial institutions that hold securities (like stocks, bonds, and other assets) in safekeeping to minimize the risk of theft or loss. Their services are crucial for investors, both individual and institutional, facilitating the buying and selling of securities, ensuring the collection of dividends and interest payments, and performing other administrative tasks on behalf of the asset owner.
This custodial service provides a secure and efficient mechanism for handling the operational aspects of investing, making them an indispensable part of the financial system. Additionally, in the last few years, custodian banks have expanded their services into the alternatives investments side, where they perform auditing and approval services of each payment that any fund or asset management firm has to perform.
In Spain, the financial landscape accommodates several leading depositary banks, which have established themselves as pivotal players in the market. Since Spain is not a massive market, the space is currently quite concentrated and there have been a few structural transactions in the market. These banks not only adhere to the stringent regulatory standards set by the Spanish and European authorities but also offer a range of services tailored to meet the evolving needs of investors.
In this brief article we will delve into the five main depositary banks in Spain, especially renowned for their reliability, comprehensive service offerings, and expertise in safeguarding assets.
One of the largest andmost well-known banks in Spain providing depositary and custodian services isInversis. It offers a wide range of custodian services, including securitiessafekeeping, settlement, and reporting services to institutional investors worldwide.
Inversis services aremainly targeted for:
- Funds and SICAVs
- InvestmentFunds:
- HedgeFunds
- PrivateEquity Entities
- Fund ofFunds
- PrivateEquity
- VentureCapital
- RenewableEnergy
- NewTechnologies
- RealEstate
- PensionPlans and Funds
- VoluntarySocial Welfare Entities
During the year 2023,Inversis was one of the banks that grew the most in the depositary servicesdivision.
CACEIS is the assetservicing banking group formed by the prestigious banks Crédit Agricole and BancoSantander dedicated to asset managers, insurance companies, pension funds,banks, private equity and real estate funds, brokers and corporate clients. Thefirm was started as a result of the joint venture formed from the merger ofcredit Agricole and Santander investment securities depositary and servicingbusinesses.
With a globalfootprint and through offices across Europe, North and South America and Asia,CACEIS offers a broad range of services covering execution, clearing, forex,securities lending, custody, depositary and fund administration, funddistribution support, middle office outsourcing and issuer services.
With assets undercustody of €4.7 trillion and assets under administration of €3.3 trillion,CACEIS is a European leader in asset servicing and one of the major playersworldwide (figures as of 31 December 2023).
BBVA global securities services acts as a regional custodian with high-level expertise in markets where the bank operates. Its two regional hubs, Spain and Mexico, feed local know-how into a global network of sub-custodians.
Offering every securities-related business service, BBVA’s clients can benefit from their core custody (asset servicing), clearing and settlement transactions and optimize their funding architecture. The bank also provides transactional services for Spanish issuers and tailor-made solutions for the Spanish investment service companies and their clients. As pioneers in the development and provision of innovative asset “servicing only” models for non-resident financial institutions, BBVA connects clients globally directly into the Spanish CSD inthe TARGET2-Securities (T2S) environment.
Cecabank offers their customers, managers of CIIs and pension funds, venture capital firms and voluntary contribution pension schemes, the experience of a leading depositary services provider in Spain and Portugal.
Cecabank provides a wide range of direct processing solutions for tax and asset custody services.This service allows tax refunds to be claimed in European markets, offering customers automatic access to digitalised mechanisms. Thanks to the speed automated process flows, efficiency and transparency are increased and risks for customers are reduced.
As a depositary bank or agent, Cecabank verifies that financial vehicles, which are SRI , regulated and under their supervision, actually meet the corresponding levels of socially responsible investment, giving the end customer the certainty that they areactually accessing an SRI product.
Cecabank also provides additional services such as voting service on securities held in any market in the world; tax accreditation and tax claims services, based on automated processes through Robotic Process Automation and the portfolio management support service through tri-party accounts including the option of digital onboarding.
BNP Paribas offers custody solutions focused on safe and efficient management of assets. The bank offers a flexible range of services to manage all securities-related activities from pre-trade to post-trade. For custody activities, this notably includes full execution, clearing and settlement capabilities, as well as all the asset services that any fund manager or investment firm may require.
Additionally, they closely follow the shaping of market trends (e.g. regulations, newtechnologies) at global and local levels. Their clients can rely on timely, world class and accurate updates on worldwide market practices thanks to rigorous monitoring.
Snab AMS presents itself as a leading and collaborative cloud finance management platform ideal for asset management firms and depositary banks. Specialized in serving companies with complex corporate structures, and that interconnect and collaborate with multiple external parties such as external accounting firms and depositary banks. Snab AMS offers an innovative ecosystem designed to meet the changing demands of the Asset Management, Asset Servicing, Private Equity and Venture Capital sectors.
With Snab AMS, depositary services such as payment approvals and communications are simplified, enabling companies to not only improve their financial efficiency but also achieve long-term success in dynamic and challenging business environments.
