After three arduous years, Sibos – one of our industry’s biggest occasions – returns to an in-person event this month. During that time, the world and our industry have changed in ways none of us could have imagined.
For my colleagues and I, this feels like a prominent moment, and we’re excited to finally catch up with many of you face to face. While of course there will be plenty of reflection, I trust we can also share ideas and ambitions for the securities services industry of tomorrow.
Perhaps our biggest challenge going forward will be how to balance these ambitions. We want to embrace the best of technology and innovation, and we’re committed to doing so in a way that keeps ESG front and centre. We must also all take care to embrace change at a pace that maintains the appropriate levels of risk management.
This edition of The Custodian will explore ways to strike the optimum balance across investment hotspots, technology, talent management, and more.
In looking to shape tomorrow’s securities services world, ESG cuts across everything. As a bank, we’re committed to increasing sustainable investment across our footprint – which comprises of regions conventionally considered ESG-laggards.
In Asia, we’re encouraged to see this assumption proving outdated. Our first piece, Asia zeroes in on ESG, considers how the region is catching up on Europe. Huge ESG-asset growth is expected over the next few years, thanks partly to positive regulatory changes at country and regional levels. And while data quality is still a limitation on growth, the advancement of technologies such as AI are expected to drive industry maturation.
Another area attracting attention in our unique footprint is the gulf region - Qatar and the UAE in particular. In GCC markets power on, we explore the factors driving foreign investor interest, despite muted broader EM sentiment and certain persistent access barriers.
With steady recent IPO activity, the emergence of new products and marketplaces, and promising new post-trade infrastructure on the horizon, we’re only seeing the beginning of GCC potential.
Our third article turns to a very different region, but one also on the cusp of enabling accelerated foreign investor inflows. East Africa finds its feet explains that while the region is experiencing economic highs and lows, industry maturation and associated investment opportunities are imminent. A technology-savvy, youth-heavy population coupled with emerging regulatory plans - such as regional stock exchange consolidation and post-trade infrastructure changes - are boosting regional prospects.
Turning to data – a topic we’ll all be debating at length at Sibos – we seek the answer to the title of our next piece, Cumulo-nimble: why custodian banks have shifted to cloud computing. While cloud technology is more ESG-aligned and more cost effective - than the conventional data-centre approach, market fragmentation and cyber risks cannot be ignored. Here, my colleague Ian Donald discusses a balanced approach to adopting cloud technology – and how it has a broader role to play in our industry.
All the themes discussed so far – especially the pandemic as a background driver in many cases – have an important impact at human level too. In our last piece, The great workplace reset, I share the Bank’s approach to managing talent during ‘The Great Resignation’. Rather than a crisis, we see this as an excellent opportunity to embrace more flexibility, greater diversity, and innovation.
We hope this mix of content inspires you to explore the new opportunities we have at this salient industry moment. I hope to discuss these topics with you soon, at Sibos and beyond.
Margaret Harwood-Jones Global Head, Financing and Securities Services, Financial Markets
