Agent Banks in Emerging Markets

The overall score for agent banks in emerging markets has now risen every year since 2021, with the trend showing no signs of abating. In addition, the three highest rated categories this year match the three most critical areas of service provision according to respondents – making it another standout year for providers.

Agent Banks in Frontier Markets

The fundamentals of agent banks’ service provision are holding strong, but technology sees a drop in scores and in clients’ priority, provoking both questions and answers in this year’s Frontier Markets survey.

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

ETFs are on a path of unstoppable growth, with record numbers and flows, a surge in active products and every sign pointing up. So why has our survey shown the lowest average score in five years?

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

Over the past 12 months, the hedge fund industry has delivered strong returns, with an increasing number of investors seeking diversification across their portfolios. This positive momentum is reflected in this year’s Hedge Fund Administration survey, which saw increased participation from both clients and providers. Notably, nine providers received full-page write-ups, while two others were featured with half-page coverage.

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

There has still been a good number of high performers in this year’s survey, but the overall score across the entire research comes in at the lowest for some time as funds with $10 billion to $100 billion bring down the average.

Private Equity Administration

The 2025 Private Equity Fund Administration survey welcomes the return of many familiar providers, alongside some exciting new entrants. We’ve also seen a rise in client participation, adding even greater depth and insight to the findings.

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.