JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services has responded to the unexpected departure of Mike Clark to a senior position at Fidelity not by replacing him, but by inviting the heads of the underlying businesses to report directly to Heidi Miller, CEO of the Treasury and Securities Services (TSS) division at the bank.
Custody product head Conrad Kozak and clearing product head Diane Eshleman will now report directly to Miller. Alternative investment services head Liz Nolan and securities financing chief Sandie O’Connor are being folded into the Kozak-led arm of WSS, on grounds traditional as well as alternative fund managers now require securities lending and financing, and hedge as well as mutual fund administration.
Interestingly, JPMorgan has taken the risk of inviting suggestions that it is unraveling the much-heralded merger of the old Chase custody business and the Chemical clearing business by portraying the changes as a reorganization into two client-based segments: a ‘securities company’ run by Kozak and a ‘clearance and agency company’ run by Eshleman.
The Securities Company includes global custody, fund accounting, US and global fund services and global derivatives services, plus the Alternative Investment Services business run by Nolan and the Securities Lending and Execution Products business run by O’Connor. The Clearance and Agency Company includes clearance and settlement, collateral management, depositary receipts and deposit products.
“A big part of the WSS success to date is due to the exceptional management team that is in place today,” says Heidi Miller. “Now, we will continue to leverage this strong team to continue to move the business forward. I believe that we are well positioned, with the scale and top-tier client base, to take advantage of strategic opportunities in the marketplace.”
JPMorgan WSS last week announced record revenues of $968 million for the third quarter, up 21% from a year earlier.