In 2025, bank inserv providers knew that they didn’t want to participate in the consolidation game – but they were less sure about what they do want.
OK, so ETFs continued to be the hottest market out there – closely followed by private assets – but what else was going on in 2025? For a start, there was no cooling of enthusiasm from private capital firms for the independent sector. Possibly the most notable example was the acquisition of JTC, the UK-listed, C.I. based administrator, which is being acquired by Permira for GBP2.3bn (Permira still has a stake in Alter Domus). JTC made no secret of the fact that part of the reasoning behind the deal was its need for external resources to help it compete with other independent administrators in the ongoing industry consolidation.
This was far from the only M&A deal in the independent sector. Even Multifonds was sold by fintech parent Temenos to Montagu Private Equity for USD400m. Yet the bank custodians largely kept their powder dry, with only two deals announced in 2025: BNP Paribas acquired HSBC’s custody and depositary business in Germany (a good deal for both sides), whilst State Street continued its random walk “strategy” by buying Mizuho’s custody businesses outside Japan, a deal that no one outside the firm can understand, let alone explain. (State Street also bought PriceStats, a provider of daily inflation statistics.)
In the U.S., State Street, along with J.P. Morgan, fell further behind pacesetters BNY, Citi, and Northern Trust in 2025. All three have benefited, in different ways, from State Street’s poor management, lack of strategy and inability to solve the longstanding problems with its client relationship model. J.P. Morgan, meanwhile, appears to have limited ambitions and a second-rate management team, resulting in a loss of market leadership positions across the board. Many of its best and brightest have defected to competitors and it relies heavily on the leverage of its corporate relationships to win mandates (e.g. BlackRock/iShares). And when did you last hear about J.P. Morgan winning significant new mandates in the private assets sector? Quite.
Discount the European providers at your peril. HSBC, BNPP, SGSS and CACEIS all had a very good 2025, with SGSS particularly relieved and reinvigorated by the very public affirmation of the group’s commitment to the business. Bloomberg will have to find something else to write about.
Several of the top 10 peer group had a strong 2025, despite rate cuts in the U.S. Whilst it is undeniable that all the bank providers still rely too heavily on capital markets to bolster their bottom line, conveniently forgetting about their post-2008 pledges to lessen that reliance and focus on core, less volatile profitability, they are making investments that may well deliver better returns in years to come. AI is clearly one; the deployment of blockchain solutions is another. The tech stack is changing at pace, with fintechs and data management specialists delivering a nimbler, slimmer profile to a business that has often been too reliant on what one wag once referred to as “the digital interface” – the five digits of the hand.
In the (genuine) digital space, J.P. Morgan and State Street are struggling to keep up. J.P. Morgan was late to the party, way behind pioneers like HSBC, whilst State Street’s digital and data “strategy” has been all over the place, mirroring other parts of the investment services business. Can they close the gap? The evidence from 2025 suggests not.
Reported mandate activity was down significantly from 2024, which may simply reflect the increasingly complicated process of getting a press release approved, both by client and provider. The largest reported mandate of the year was State Street’s appointment by Columbia Threadneedle Investments, the global asset management group of Ameriprise Financial, Inc., to provide expanded fund accounting, administration and custody services for Columbia Threadneedle’s pooled funds, including ETFs, in the U.S. and Europe, covering USD431bn of assets.
There were welcome returns to the industry for a number of previously high-profile players: Richard Street (ex-RBC) to Broadridge, Jill Evans (ex-Citi) to TMF, Jess Donohue (ex-State Street) to Northen Trust, Jamie Stevenson (ex-RBC) to BNY, Paul Stillabower (ex-RBC) to Euroclear, and, most importantly, Claudine Gallagher, who was appointed as global head of BNP Paribas’s securities services business, replacing Patrick Colle, who moves up to become executive chairman. Gallagher becomes the second woman in charge of a top 10 bank provider, alongside Fiona Horsewill at HSBC (and let’s not forget Margaret Harwood-Jones at Standard Chartered and Claire Johnson at RBC). Progress – and not before time (see my Analysis of 2023).
For women, the year started well, with Gaelle Duclos promoted to deputy head of SGSS. Amongst independents, there was more good news. Whilst one female CEO, Aztec’s Kathryn Purves, stepped down and was replaced by a man, there were several key appointments: Charlotte Hogg, CEO of Alter Domus, Sarah Shenton, CEO, AccessFintech, Caroline Connellan, group CEO, Highvern/Permian, and Kim Jenkins, CEO, Vistra.
Three big beasts stepped away from the industry. BlackRock’s Phil Evans, a 15-year veteran and most recently head of global provider strategy, retired; Okan Pekin, head of Citi’s securities services business for 11 years, also stepped down, Northern Trust’s Toby Glaysher “retired”, (only to reappear as chairman of Finbourne), whilst Frank Koudelka, State Street’s ETF maven, announced his plans to retire in 2026. Each has made a huge contribution to the industry.
In sadder news, Nick Emmins died. Nick worked for BNP Paribas before a seven-year stint at RBC Investor Services, where he led development of its fund trading platform, GFP. After a brief spell at Allfunds, Nick carved out a highly successful career as an iNED, working with clients that included Lazard, Quilter and Premier Milton.
2025 was a mixed bag – some things went well, but there is still so much to do (and a chronic shortage of sufficiently talented people to execute). Perversely, inserv providers have so much choice in terms of fintech solutions that they are sometimes rightly accused of analysis paralysis. That’s one of the reasons why State Street is so far behind BNY in the wealth services space: is it Advisor360°, FNZ, iCapital or Apex Fintech Solutions? Will 2026 be any different? Probably not – but it will be fun watching. Bring it on!
A Postscript:
As many of you know, 2025 was my annus horribilis (and 2024 wasn’t anything to write home about). The less said about it, the better – but I do want to acknowledge the fantastic help, support and compassion that I received from many in the industry as I worked through my challenges (you know who you are). I have been absolutely bowled over by the kindness shown to me during a very tough two years. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped me to get through it all. The good news is, I am really looking forward to 2026:
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep”
© 2025 Richard Greensted