Euroclear’s fund assets under custody grew 13% in 2017 following strong interest in its international ETF model, while use of its collateral highway always rose 7%.
The Belgium-based central securities depositary (CSD) has invested in its fund market infrastructure service, FundsPlace, by adding automated straight-through processing in settlement and asset servicing for ETFs and other fund types, and plans to expand its collateral management service to include ETFs.
In September, California-based asset manager Franklin Templeton launched four smart-beta European exchange traded funds (ETFs) through Euroclear’s issuance structure.
Earlier in the year, Chinese asset manager GC International collaborated with Euroclear to issue its first international ETF, which tracks FTSE China A index equities.
Elsewhere, Euroclear’s Collateral Highway mobilised an average of €1.1 trillion of collateralised transactions daily.
Netted transactions settled by Euroclear in 2017 grew 10% to a record 215 million, while the value of securities held for clients reached a record €28.6 trillion, up 3% year-on-year.
The results mark a good first year for new chief executive officer Lieve Mostrey, who took over on 1 January last year.
“Euroclear delivered a strong operating performance in 2017, supported by favourable market conditions,” said Mostrey.
“These results demonstrate the appetite of our global client base for solutions that help them overcome complex post-trade challenges such as sourcing liquidity and optimizing collateral, leading to safer and more efficient financial markets.”