BNY Mellon has seen mixed results in its investment management and servicing businesses, with a slight 1 percent increase in assets under custody contending with a 4 percent slump in assets under management.
In Q4 2015, assets under custody and/or administration reached $28.9 trillion, an increase of 1 percent over Q4 2014. This modest increase was attributed mainly to new business, offset by the unfavourable impact of a stronger US dollar, and low market values.
The report also estimated that BNY Mellon saw $49 billion in new assets under custody and/or administration in Q4 2015.
At the end of Q4 2015, assets under management stood at $1.63 trillion, 4 percent less than at the same time in 2014, when this figure stood at $1. .69 trillion. Assets under management remained unchanged between Q3 and Q4 2015.
This dip was also partially attributed to the effect of a stronger US dollar, however the report also cites long-term net outflows of $11 billion in Q4 2015 and generally lower market values.
These issues were partially offset, however, by the acquisition of Cutwater Asset Management in January 2015.
The investment management business saw total revenue of $1 billion, marking a 2 percent increase year-on-year and an 8 percent jump compared to Q3 2015.
Investment services fees totalled $1.7 billion in Q4 2015, the same as was registered in Q4 in the previous year. This was, however, an 8 percent decrease on Q3 2015, which saw fees of $1.85 billion.
Asset servicing fees reached 1.01 billion in Q4 2015, 1 percent more than the total of in Q4 2014, which reached 992 million, but a 3 percent dip compared to Q3 2014’s total of $1.03 billion.
The slight growth over Q4 2014 was attributed primarily to growth in BNY Mellon’s global collateral services and broker dealer services, as well as higher securities lending revenues. However this was also offset by the impact of the stronger US dollar.
The decrease in comparison to Q3 2015 was attributed more generally to lower client activity.
Gerald Hassell, chairman and CEO of BNY Mellon, said: “Our results in 2015 demonstrated that our strategic plan has positioned us well to perform in all operating environments. Even with geopolitical instability, emerging market weakness, higher regulatory compliance requirements and low interest rates, we executed on our strategic priorities and focused on what was within our control.”
He added: “As we look ahead to 2016, enhancing the client experience continues to be a priority, as we seek to strengthen service quality and productivity by leveraging our investments in industry-leading technologies.”
