Clearstream’s figures for assets under custody have reached a record high, increasing by 9 percent to exceed €13 trillion.
Assets held under custody on behalf of customers increased from €12.1 trillion in February 2014 to €13.2 trillion in February 2015.
Securities under custody in Clearstream’s international business, the international central securities depository (ICSD) and in the local German CSD both also saw jumps of 9 percent.
Securities in the ICSD increased from €6.4 trillion in February 2014 to €6.9 trillion in February 2015. Those in the German CSD increased from €5.7 trillion to €6.2 trillion.
The combined value of assets under custody in the international and German CSD combined reached a 2015 year-to-date total of €13 trillion, an 8 percent increase on €12 trillion in the same period in 2014.
In the settlement business, in February 2015, the ICSD processed 3.9 million transactions, a 7 percent increase on last February’s total of 3.7 million. Of February 2015’s transactions, 80 percent were over-the-counter transactions and 20 percent were registered as stock exchange transactions.
On the German domestic market, CSD settlement transactions totalled 7.8 million, 14 percent more than in February 2014, which saw 6.8 million transactions processed. Of February 2015’s transactions, 35 percent were over-the-counter, and 65 percent were on the stock exchange.
Year to date, the ICSD and CSD transactions combined saw a jump of 7 percent compared to the same period in 2014, increasing from 21.8 million to 23.5 million.
Investment fund services (IFS) processed 800,000 transactions in February 2014, a 17 percent increase on 700,000 in February 2014.
Year-to-date, IFS transactions increased by 11 percent from 1.5 million in 2014 to 1.7 million in 2015.
Marc Robert-Nicoud, member of the executive board responsible for strategy, pricing and communications, said: “These record numbers are remarkable because they reflect healthy growth across all Clearstream service lines. This growth is clearly driven by new and existing customers bringing additional assets to Clearstream.”
He added: “Our attractiveness is grounded on a business model that combines the innovation power of a commercially driven organisation and the reliability and stability of a financial infrastructure. The recent spike in our business drivers is also attributable to the offering we have developed around Target2-Securities.”
“Customers have been very receptive to the way we have integrated settlement, custody, collateral management and CCP clearing services for all asset classes, including investment funds. It is very rewarding to see this materialise in business growth.”
These figures will not include the assets under custody or volumes of Citco Bank, which was acquired by Clearstream last year, until it has fully migrated its financial systems, a move planned for Q3 2015.
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