Citi has been appointed by Banque de Luxembourg to provide access to Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and custody services for A-shares acquired through the program.

This appointment allows Banque de Luxembourg’s investor clients to benefit from Citi’s SPSA+ solution which offers delivery versus payment (DVP) settlement with multiple brokers, thereby eliminating counterparty risk and reducing contingency risk for the investors.

Citi SPSA+ allows investors to appoint up to 20 brokers and avoid the pre-delivery of shares. Furthermore, it offers true RVP/DVP settlement, allowing both securities and cash to be settled simultaneously on T+0. This eliminates overnight counterparty risks with brokers as long as the investors transact through any one of Citi’s clearing or custody brokers partners.

It also facilitates the post-trade process and therefore helps investors reduce the risk of fail trades and potential buy-in claims from their brokers. In addition, Citi SPSA+ enables regulated funds such as UCITs to better comply with regulatory requirements such as true RVP/DVP settlement and the proper control of shares and segregation of assets throughout the entire custody-chain.