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- Global Custody Pro - 16 July 2025
Global Custody Pro - 16 July 2025
BNY hits $55.8 trillion in AuC/A, JPM, Euroclear and more
Global Custody Pro
July 15, 2025 • Reading Time: 13 minutes
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📈 Q2 Earnings Season
BNY Mellon posts Q2 revenue above $5 billion, $55.8T AuC/A
By the Numbers: BNY reported total revenue for the second quarter of 2025 reached $5.0 billion, a 9% increase year-over-year. Diluted earnings per common share rose 27% to $1.93, with a reported pre-tax operating margin of 37%. Assets under custody or administration reached $55.8 trillion.
The company's transformation initiatives are demonstrating tangible outcomes, according to CEO Robin Vince. The firm's new commercial model has delivered two consecutive quarters of record sales, while the platform-based operating model has shown "faster delivery times, enhanced service quality, increased innovation along with greater efficiency" in areas where it was first implemented.
Looking ahead, the company has updated its full-year 2025 financial outlook, projecting net interest income to increase by "high-single-digits %" year-over-year. The outlook for expenses, excluding notable items, is now for an approximately 3% year-over-year increase.
Why it matters: JPMorgan Chase reported its Commercial & Investment Bank (CIB) posted a 9% year-over-year revenue increase to $19.5 billion for the second quarter of 2025. Within this, Securities Services revenue grew 12% to $1.4 billion, and Markets revenue rose 15% to $8.9 billion.
The firm attributes the 12% growth in its Securities Services unit to higher deposit balances, fee growth from increased client activity, and higher market levels. The bank's assets under custody reached $38.0 trillion, an increase from $34.0 trillion in the same period of the prior year.
While the firm projects full-year 2025 net interest income of approximately $95.5 billion, CEO Jamie Dimon stated that "significant risks persist - including from tariffs and trade uncertainty, worsening geopolitical conditions, high fiscal deficits and elevated asset prices."
State Street reports record $49T AuC/A, adds $1.1T new wins
Why it matters: State Street reported record assets under custody and/or administration (AUC/A) of $49 trillion and record assets under management (AUM) of $5.1 trillion for the second quarter of 2025. The firm announced new investment servicing AUC/A wins of $1.1 trillion and an 11% year-over-year increase in total fee revenue.
The growth in new business was supported by the State Street Alpha platform, which contributed approximately $380 billion of the new servicing AUC/A wins. The results also reflected broad-based fee revenue strength, with a 28% year-over-year increase in FX trading services and a 17% increase in securities finance revenue.
The company plans to increase its quarterly common stock dividend by 11% to $0.84 per share, subject to Board approval. State Street expects its "momentum will continue, which positions us well to deliver improved results and drive long-term, sustainable growth," according to Ron O'Hanley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Citigroup Reaches $28 trillion in AuC/A
Driving the news: Citigroup has reported that its second-quarter 2025 net income increased to $4.0 billion from $3.2 billion in the prior-year period. Revenues for the quarter increased 8% year-over-year to $21.7 billion, driven by growth in each of the bank's five core businesses.
The bank's Services division, which includes Securities Services, recorded an 8% revenue increase to $5.1 billion. Specifically, Securities Services revenues increased 11% year-over-year to $1.4 billion, driven by higher deposit volumes and fee growth resulting from a 17% rise in assets under custody and/or administration (AUC/AUA), which reached $28 trillion.
Looking ahead, CEO Jane Fraser stated that "next year's 10-11% ROTCE target is a waypoint, not a destination," and that actions taken have positioned the firm for long-term success. The company's Board of Directors approved an increase to the common stock dividend to $0.60 per share, from $0.56, commencing in the third quarter of 2025.
🌏 Global Custody News
Euroclear unveils pan-EU single market post-trade plan
The big picture: Euroclear has announced a comprehensive plan to create a single market for post-trade services, aiming to establish a single point of access to all 27 EU member states across all financial asset classes. The initiative is designed to support the Savings and Investments Union's (SIU) objectives and enhance the efficiency of European market infrastructure.
This action plan will deliver integrated services through synergies between Euroclear’s local Central Securities Depositories (CSDs) and its international CSD, Euroclear Bank. The firm states this will provide issuers with access to a broad investor ecosystem and enhance post-trade infrastructure for retail and institutional investment.
Euroclear's immediate focus is to complete Euroclear Bank’s commercial bank money access to all 27 EU member states by 2026. The firm will then accelerate Euroclear Bank’s connection to the T2S platform to provide access to central bank money.
Hong Kong SFC consults on capital requirement rules
Driving the news: The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong has launched a public consultation on proposed amendments to the Securities and Futures (Financial Resources) Rules (FRR) to align capital requirements for licensed corporations in over-the-counter (OTC) derivative activities with international standards.
The proposed changes are designed to support business diversification for licensed corporations, including trading in Mainland China stocks, commodities, carbon products, and digital asset futures and options on licensed platforms. The proposals also include lower capital requirements for inter-dealer brokers and an exemption for centrally-cleared repurchase transactions to foster Hong Kong's repo market.
These proposals are intended to "facilitate innovation and boost the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s offshore RMB, FICC, and digital asset markets," according to Dr. Eric Yip, the SFC’s Executive Director of Intermediaries.
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🚀 Digital Asset News
US Regulators Detail Crypto Risk Concerns
Why it matters: US banking regulators, including the OCC, the Federal Reserve, and the FDIC, have jointly issued a statement clarifying how existing laws and risk-management principles apply to crypto-asset safekeeping by banking organisations. The statement confirms this guidance does not establish any new supervisory expectations.
The primary operational risk identified for banking organisations is the compromise or loss of cryptographic keys, which could lead to the loss of customer assets and expose the organisation to liability. The agencies specify that effective safekeeping requires demonstrating that no other party can unilaterally transfer the crypto-asset.
Banking organisations contemplating these services must implement a risk governance framework that adapts to the evolving crypto-asset market. The regulators emphasise that comprehensive customer agreements are a crucial tool for mitigating risks specific to the asset class, such as forks, airdrops, and on-chain governance.
Forteus Paper Details Crypto Custody Operations
The big picture: A research paper from Forteus Research outlines the progress in institutional crypto custody, observing that while basic custody is becoming commoditised, active trading and DeFi strategies require more sophisticated operational solutions to manage specific risks.
The paper states that allocators to crypto funds are often faced with smaller management teams, leading to operational risks from limited segregation of duties that require mitigation through separately managed accounts (SMAs), robust technology, or outsourced operational support.
Looking ahead, the analysis anticipates that large US banks will soon offer direct crypto custodial solutions following regulatory shifts and advocates for the expanded adoption of off-exchange settlement arrangements to mitigate counterparty risk further.
ESMA issues criteria for crypto-asset staff competence
Regulatory Beat: The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published guidelines specifying the criteria for assessing the knowledge and competence of staff at crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) who provide information or advice on crypto-assets under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
The guidelines outline the minimum level of knowledge and competence required, including professional qualifications and experience, and specifically address risks such as high volatility and cybersecurity threats.
The stated objective of the new criteria is to enhance investor protection and build trust in the crypto-asset markets by ensuring CASPs act in their clients' best interest.
Project Acacia selects participants for tokenised asset pilots
Driving the news: The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) have conditionally selected 24 industry use cases for the next phase of Project Acacia. The project will test tokenised asset transactions using settlement assets, including stablecoins, bank deposit tokens, and a pilot wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC).
To facilitate the project, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is providing regulatory relief to participants. The relief supports the responsible testing of tokenised asset transactions and is intended to streamline the pilot.
Testing of the use cases will proceed over the next six months. A report detailing the project's findings is expected to be published in the first quarter of 2026, supporting the RBA's ongoing research.
Aberdeen, Lloyds, and Archax Use Tokenised Assets as Collateral
Key Move: Aberdeen Investments, Lloyds Banking Group, and Archax have completed a UK-first initiative, using tokenised money market funds and UK gilts as collateral for a foreign exchange (FX) trade between Aberdeen and Lloyds.
The collaboration demonstrated that regulated digital assets can serve as collateral in the FX and interest rate derivatives market. The stated benefits include streamlined margining, reduced operational costs, enhanced collateral efficiency, and minimised counterparty risk.
According to the participants, the successful pilot lays the foundation for scaling tokenised collateral solutions and reinforces the UK’s position in next-generation financial infrastructure.
Standard Chartered launches institutional digital assets trading
Key Move: Standard Chartered has launched a spot trading service for its institutional clients, offering direct access to Bitcoin and Ether through its UK branch. The bank states it is the first global systemically important bank to provide deliverable cryptoasset spot trading for clients, including corporates, investors, and asset managers.
The service is integrated into the bank’s existing platforms, allowing clients to trade via familiar FX interfaces and settle to their choice of custodian. Standard Chartered notes that the offering, as an FCA-registered service, provides clients with the assurance of a regulated framework and institutional-grade risk controls.
The bank will expand the offering by introducing non-deliverable forwards (NDFs). The launch is positioned as the latest component of its digital asset strategy, which already includes custody through the bank and its venture Zodia Custody, and tokenisation services via its venture Libeara.
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Brennan McDonald,
Managing Editor
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