State Street has launched State Street Digital, a new division focused on addressing the industry’s evolving shift to digital finance.
The new division will build on State Street’s current digital capabilities and will expand to include crypto, central bank digital currency, blockchain, and tokenisation.
Meanwhile, State Street’s proprietary GlobalLink technology platform will be an integral component of State Street Digital and will be enhanced into a digital multi-asset platform.
The objective is to evolve the platform into a multi-asset platform to support crypto assets among other asset classes, and to support peer-to-peer ambitions by creating new liquidity venues for clients and investors worldwide.
Nadine Chakar, executive vice president at State Street, will take on the reins of leading the new division. She will report to Lou Maiuri, chief operating officer of State Street.
The move builds on State Street’s acceleration within the digital servicing space. In April this year, State Street was appointed as the administrator of a planned bitcoin backed exchange-traded note (ETN) initiated by Iconic Funds.
In addition, as part of State Street’s succession planning, Tony Bisegna has been appointed as head of global markets, effective 1 September 2021.
“The financial industry is transforming to a digital economy, and we see digital assets as one of the most significant forces impacting our industry over the next five years,” comments Ron O’Hanley, chairman and CEO of State Street.
O’Hanely explains: “Digital assets are quickly becoming integrated into the existing framework of financial services, and it is critical we have the tools in place to provide our clients with solutions for both their traditional investment needs as well as their increased digital needs.”
Chakar adds: “State Street has a major role to play in the evolution of digital market infrastructure and this new division will help us bring our expertise and resources to the conversation.”
