HSBC Securities Services has been awarded the mandate to manage custody for £21 billion in Eurobonds held by Legal & General (L&G), a Britain-based provider of life insurance and other investments. HSBC already served as the insurer’s fixed income custodian.
“We had been looking at consolidating this activity to a professional custodian for some time, in order to take advantage of economies of scale in pricing and overhead costs,” said Keith Bewsey, director of operations for L&G Investment Management. “HSBC Securities Services was a natural choice, as not only has it demonstrated expertise in holding L&G’s gilts and UK equities for many years, but is also able to offer scale and complex infrastructure support for Eurobonds that really makes a difference to our bottom line.”
Paul Stillabower, head of business development, Europe, HSBC Securities Services, sees L&G’s move as proof that the ” largest UK financial houses continue to move away from direct relationships with markets toward specialized financial services providers for both custody and fund administration.”