Global Custodian Blog

Libertarians in the United States must be up in arms as the federal government attempts to broaden its oversight of the States' financial markets. (Investment banks are probably feeling pangs of anxiety, too.)

Pension schemes in the UK need to find a solution.

Yesterday at the GC London office we conversed about the sub-prime mortgage crisis, and that somehow led to my reflection (as the token American) on the essence of the American Dream.

In the last few years, socially responsible investments (SRIs) have gained pace and taken on more activist roles.

Jérôme Kerviel has lost billions of euros and won billions of fans.

During my first and only trip to the trade desk of a London bank during the filming of the Global Custodian documentary

Transparency.

What a buzz word. As a journalist, I’ve heard this word zillions of times from people in my own profession. Just another thing journos have in common with those in the financial industry: We like to use the word “transparency” and hail it as the ultimate yet elusive goal (thus this blog).

Production of Global Custodian's flagship documentary, "Opportunities and Challenges in the European Securities Services Industry" (internally called "Opportunities and Challenges" for short), took GC staff on a whirlwind tour around Europe and the United States. Filming took place in Boston (Santander), New York City (The Bank of New York Mellon and JPMorgan), Paris (Societe Generale and BNP Paribas) and London (BNP Paribas, SEB, ICAP, Clearstream, Euroclear, RBC Dexia and SWIFT) from October to December 2007.

As usual, this week’s financial news has revolved around more slashing of billions because of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. The troubled financial institution in the headlines is America’s biggest bank, Citigroup Inc. And just like every big story in the financial world, first there were rumors, and then there were scoops, and then there were announcements.

Two key terms reigned in 2007 for the securities services industry: consolidation and sub-prime woes. The merger of The Bank of New York and The Mellon Financial Corporation to form The Bank of New York Mellon was perhaps the largest announcement of the year, being finalized on the 1st July. No less important were other mergers and acquisitions, which remained in the news for months during 2007.