The Asset Servicing division of National Australia Bank (NAB) has launched a series of product initiatives in cooperation with BNY Mellon, starting with the introduction of private equity administration and middle office services for its superannuation and fund manager customers.
The joint venture between the two organizations has been rumored for some time and was acknowledged as long ago as July by NAB, though BNY Mellon at the time declined to comment.
The two firms have had a close relationship since 1996, when BNY Mellon was appointed global custodian for all foreign assets of NABs custody client base, according to a statement. NAB is the largest provider of custody services in Australia with assets under custody of about AU$600 billion.
Leigh Watson, executive general manager for asset servicing at NAB, says the new service offering will give NAB clients access to global products and capabilities with a strong local presence. We felt that expanding our existing global custody partnership would result in the most tangible benefits for our customers, Watson says.
Watson adds that the continued increase in superannuation assets in Australia, and further injections from the Cooper recommendations to increase the Superannuation Guarantee rate from 9% to 12%, has resulted in a continued higher allocation to unlisted assets such as private equity. That means a greater need for NAB to deliver competitive product and service capabilities to support those assets.
Australia is a key growth market for our company, and NAB has been a strong partner for 14 years, says Chong Jin Leow, head of Asia for BNY Mellon Asset Servicing. We look forward to continuing to work with them in serving the needs of Australian clients.
Chong says transparency and risk management are at the top of the agenda for Australian financial institutions, which is fueling demand for middle office services such as sophisticated reporting, risk analyses and monitoring solutions.
By marrying our solutions, were ideally placed to work closely with these institutions, facilitating the flow of data that informs their investment decisions and assists them in addressing todays evolving regulatory requirements, Chong says.