Agent Banks in Emerging Markets

This year’s survey produces some fascinating trends as overall scores fall, Asian markets thrive, and a higher emphasis on asset safety and risk management emerges. Tech and innovation are the most bemoaned by respondents but also remain a lower priority for clients in selecting providers, while there are market structure and regulatory developments occurring at a pace seldom seen before.

Agent Banks in Frontier Markets

Scores in frontier markets decline for the third consecutive year. Is there concern? Or is this simply a reflection of wider macroeconomic and market factors at play?

Agent Banks in Major Markets

Scores may have fallen slightly across Global Custodian’s Agent Banks in Major Markets survey this year, but the overall average is still the second highest over a five-year span, with plenty of positive indications for service providers.

Central and Eastern Europe Domestic Custody

While Central and Eastern Europe is regarded for the sake of convenience as a single region, securities services providers experience different client priorities and requirements in the individual markets.

China Domestic Survey

Exchange Traded Fund Administration Survey

ETF servicing scores are climbing again after a three-year slide, but the rebound is uneven, the provider gap is widening, and the industry's biggest structural shift is still to come.

Greece Domestic Survey

In recent years, Greek custodian banks have been prisoners of the country’s sovereign debt ratings. Until these improve, domestic institutions will be an increasingly important client segment.

Hedge Fund Administration Survey

There is a puzzle buried in this year's Hedge Fund Administration Survey. Hedge funds have just had one of their better first halves in living memory, gaining roughly 7% in the six months to June - the industry's strongest opening in five years. Assets are up, performance fees are flowing, and the operational machinery behind all of it has been running hot. And yet the 211 respondents to this year's survey have marked their administrators down.

India Domestic Survey

Domestic Indian institutions rate their securities services providers highly, but not necessarily in the same way as their cross-border counterparts.

Malaysia Domestic Survey

Operational reforms will help local providers meet the service needs of a growing investor base.

Mutual Fund Administration Survey

The fruits of consolidation among mutual fund administrators appear to be a group of service providers able to operate at scale to the growing satisfaction of their diverse client bases.

Outsourced Trading Survey

Trends are emerging in the third year of our Outsourced Trading Survey as the largest asset managers deliver the highest praise, and the balance of full versus hybrid outsourcing shifts.

Prime Brokerage Survey

Prime brokerage revenues are soaring, clients are thriving, and there appears to be enough business to filter down to mid-tier providers and boutiques, so imagine our surprise to see scores plummet in Global Custodian’s annual survey.

Private Equity Administration

Our 2026 Private Equity Fund Administration survey reflects the technology revolution we are witnessing across the financial services industry as capabilities jump from the lowest rated category in 2025 to the rising star of this year’s research.

Singapore Domestic Survey

South Africa Domestic Survey

While domestic institutional clients of South African custodians have a similar overall perception of their service providers to the banks’ foreign clients, there are some intriguing differences at a service category level.

Tri-Party Securities Financing

This year’s survey has been substantially revised to take account of regulatory developments and the engagement of the buy-side.