Asset service providers navigated challenging market conditions in 2021 by showcasing their ability to service mandates that spanned a variety of asset classes and requirements, such as digital payments, Islamic sustainability investments, and exchange-traded funds.
The array of mandates provided some clients with first-mover advantage in some markets, innovative servicing in new asset classes such as payment tokens, and pushed what used to be niche asset classes such as Islamic bonds or sukuk into the global sustainability investment market.
With our strong focus on sustainability, The Asset board of editors did not include mandates related to non-renewable assets such as coal. Client feedback also played a very important role in our evaluation of the mandates.
It is in this context that we announce the winners of the Mandates and Solutions of the Year of The Asset Triple A Sustainable Investing Awards for Institutional Investor, ETF, and Asset Servicing Providers 2022.
Best Digital Custody Mandate
FOMO Pay
DBS
DBS worked with FOMO Pay to establish an end-to-end solution for merchant clients to accept digital payment token (DPT) payments, which are subsequently transferred to the DBS custody environment. This enables FOMO Pay to trade on the DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx), the bank’s trading platform for DPTs, and monetize them.
Best Subcustodian Mandate, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines
State Street
Standard Chartered
The Best Subcustodian Mandate is the State Street mandate awarded to Standard Chartered in three markets, namely Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. This is the biggest subcustodian mandate in the region during the awards period, involving multiple markets and the migration of billions of dollars in assets under management (AUM). The mandate showcased Standard Chartered’s deep understanding of State Street’s requirements and objectives. With the successful migration of assets in Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, Standard Chartered now covers 15 markets as subcustodian for State Street.
Best Custody Mandate, China
Value Rising Asset Management
Standard Chartered
As the first foreign bank to acquire a local fund custody licence in 2018, Standard Chartered leveraged its onshore market custody capabilities to provide distribution for Value Rising Asset Management, the first domestic fund management company to use a foreign custodian for its local mutual fund business, by forming partnerships with local banks and brokerages. This allowed Value Rising to overcome existing market practice that does not allow mutual funds in China to have their own distribution capabilities.
Best Custody Mandate, South Korea
Shinhan Life Insurance
Standard Chartered
This landmark mandate established Standard Chartered as Shinhan Life Insurance’s strategic partner for comprehensive management of offshore assets.
Standard Chartered was mandated to provide world-class one-stop corporate banking services ranging from custody of offshore assets to overall client services through dedicated local staff.
Best Fund Administrator Mandate, Retail, India
PPFAS Mutual Fund
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank used its securities lending and borrowing solution to service the PPFAS Mutual Fund mandate, comprising almost entirely of equity assets, which are mostly processed using straight-through processing (STP). The mandate is upwards of US$3 billion in AUM.
Best Fund Administrator Mandate, Alternatives, Singapore
Avanda Investment Management Private Limited
BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas demonstrated its capability to service funds under the new variable capital company (VCC) structure, to support Avanda's dynamic requirements, as well as the bespoke needs of the funds. This mandate called for a complete solution that is not commonly available in the marketplace.
Best Corporate Trust Mandate, Hong Kong
Greater Bay Re
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank showcased its capabilities to service this mandate involving Greater Bay Re Limited’s US$30m Series 2021-1, Class A Principal At-Risk Variable Rate Notes due September 29 2022 (Private Placement Catastrophe Bond), which were structured as zero-coupon notes and placed privately to a group of catastrophe bond investors. This China typhoon-risks cat bond is the first and the only insurance-linked securities (ILS) issuance in Hong Kong in 2021.
Best Corporate Trust Mandate, Malaysia
Government of Malaysia
HSBC
The Best Corporate Trust Mandate is awarded to HSBC for the Government of Malaysia’s US$1.3 billion Sovereign Sustainability Sukuk, a landmark transaction that sets a new benchmark deal in Islamic sustainability investing.
The deal highlights HSBC’s trustee capabilities, allowing it to capture the full event to flow banking roles across debt capital markets, ESG solutions, Islamic finance, and issuer services.
Best DR Mandate, China
NIO
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank used its capabilities in servicing Asian depositary receipts (ADRs) to service this US$2 billion at-the-market (ATM) follow-on offering for NIO, a Chinese multinational automobile manufacturer. This is the first ATM follow-on of this size among Asia-Pacific ADR issuers and is unprecedented in the APAC market.
Best DR Mandate, South Korea
SK Telecom
Citi
This mandate involves a spin-off of SK Square with a stock split, a transaction valued at US$6.6 billion. Citi serviced the ADR programme from ratio change, capital reduction, spin-off election and cash distribution from sales of spin-off shares.
Best Securities Lending Mandate
Nikko Asset Management Singapore STI ETF & Nikko AM Straits Trading Asia ex-Japan REITs ETF
HSBC
HSBC was the first in market to launch securities lending for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Singapore for two ETFs, namely the Nikko Asset Management Singapore STI ETF and the Nikko AM Straits Trading Asia ex-Japan REITs ETF.
For the full list of winners please click here
To participate in the awards ceremony, please contact [email protected]