ING has merged its European custody and clearing services into a single unit with the aim of enlarging its share of the European marketplace.
ING Securities Services, The Netherlands, which formally came into being at the turn of the year, is headed by Pieter Schuurs and Ron Stommel as managing directors. Schuurs will also act as chairman. The new unit was created by the merger of ING Bank’s Securities Services Department and ExtraClearing, the former ING subsidiary for third party derivatives clearing.
The Low Countries banking group bank says the merger, whose implementation is accompanied by a migration to a completely new back office system, is part of its strategy to enlarge its share of the European custody and clearing market. It puts ING Bank in Amsterdam, BBL in Brussels and ING-BHF Bank in Frankfurt on to a single processing and sales platform, while endeavouring to retain the local identity of the component parts.
ING Securities Services will now offer custody, cash management and reporting, with integrated derivatives and cash-clearing, in several domestic markets in Europe. It will also offer ADR Programmes and Paying Agency Services and a web-enabled system for the administration and execution of Stock Option Plans for listed companies. ING Securities Services has a securities lending arm, and a powerful network in east and central Europe. ING recently formed an alliance with Bank of New York, in which the American custodian bank will become preferred supplier of global custody services to its European clients.
“ING has repeatedly stressed its commitment to the securities services market as other institutions head for the exit door,” explains the bank. “As this latest announcement demonstrates, its actions once again speak even more loudly than its words.”