Last year, RBI hosted a Central and Eastern Europe Capital Market Infrastructure Forum in Vienna. The forum included two panels comprising senior representatives of stock exchanges and CSDs from the region. The second of the panels, “Does one size fit all?” explored the practical impact of CSDs on market activity in CEE markets.

China’s QFII and RQFII schemes are the subject of a consultation by China’s regulators, while inclusion of Chinese securities in global indices continues apace.

Digital disruption is driving a fundamental rethink of the securities services business model. Scott Dickinson, regional head of securities services for Africa and the Middle East, Standard Chartered, believes disruptive technologies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies will strengthen their client proposition.

John Plansky, CEO of Charles River Development, a State Street company, sits down with Global Custodian to talk about how State Street’s flagship front-to-back platform is resonating with key buy-side clients and how the model could become the new norm in the asset servicing business.

Prevent your trades from failing in the first instance and you’ll have nothing to worry about under the new Settlement Discipline Regime (SDR), says Matthew Johnson, associate director, ITP product management at DTCC.

SmartStream launched a new innovation lab in Vienna last summer populated with some of the industry’s finest talent. Just a year later, it is ready to roll out a transformative new artificial intelligence solution for reconciliation.

India’s ambitious plans to double the size of its economy to $5 trillion will mean local custodians will have an increasingly important role to facilitate increased activity from foreign portfolio investments (FPIs) and domestic investment vehicles such as mutual funds, insurance and AIFs. Vineet Potnis, head of custody services for Stock Holding, explains what India’s largest custodian is doing in preparation for this.

The potential ‘big bang’ for buy-side firms being swept into the upcoming initial margin rules for non-cleared derivatives was given a vital delay this summer, with the deadline extended until September 2021.

The investment book of record (IBOR) is a crucial component for a hedge fund manager, but is currently facing a number of challenges as managers search for alpha. Shankar Iyer, chief solutions officer at Viteos (an Intertrust company) , explains how innovation is helping hedge funds alleviate some of these pressures.

Regulatory data has emerged as a perfect complement to the SmartStream Reference Data Utility’s (RDU) product offering, and with the introduction of SFTR on the horizon, the utility model is needed by the industry now more than ever, according to Linda Coffman, global product manager, RDU.

How competitive is the prime brokerage market? The question cannot be answered without looking across the full set of services that prime brokers provide as well as the full range of clients they are provided to, says Wendy Beer, managing director and head of business consulting, Wells Fargo Prime Services.

Changes in market conditions and regulations in recent years have led buy-side firms to consider outsourced trading as an alternative to maintaining an in-house desk. Bobby Croswell, managing director and head of outsourced trading business development at Cowen, explains why.

Fiona Gallagher, global head of securities services, GTB, Deutsche Bank, tells Global Custodian what the securities services industry can learn from online retail businesses and how broader IT innovation can be harnessed to reinforce client efficiency.

Outsourcing and third-party clearing is fast emerging as an attractive solution in the Asia-Pacific region, not just for buy-side firms but also brokers and regional banks, as they look to alleviate capital and operational pressures.

Institutional clients are adopting a much more rigorous process in the selection of their service providers as the future of the financial services industry continues to be defined by the digital agenda underpinned by technology and connectivity say Louise Currie, general manager, and Anke Frankland, senior manager, network and relationship management for Nedbank Investor Services.