Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking launch its custody service in Mauritius on the 1st July 2008. The development of the custody product in Mauritius is a result of growing investment activity by local institutions and a growing interest by foreign investors to invest in the Mauritian market.
Standard Bank will initially offer custody services to local institutional investors and sub custody services to foreign institutional investors. “Given the global and local custody opportunity, Standard Bank views Mauritius as a strategic component of its custody network in sub-Saharan Africa going forward,” says Mark Kerns, managing director and global head of investor services for Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking.
Prior to establishing the local custody capability, Standard Bank had developed a global custody offering to service offshore funds registered in Mauritius.
“The establishment of the custody product in Mauritius adds to the 11 sub-Saharan markets that Standard Bank currently provides custody services in, says Kerns. “In nine months Standard Bank has developed a custody offering in three new markets, including Mauritius, Uganda and Malawi.”
Standard Bank’s Regional Custody service provides clients with a single point of entry into the 12 markets covered by Standard Bank. This means a single contract with Standard Bank of South Africa Limited for custody services in all 12 markets, including South Africa. A central relationship manager and support team based in Johannesburg is allocated to clients to manage the relationship and support clients’ custody activities in all 12 markets.