GC Spring 2021 | Page 26

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I personally don ’ t like the term custody bank

BNY Mellon ’ s Roman Regelman

BNY Mellon has kicked off the year with a flurry of ground-breaking announcements . Roman Regelman , CEO of asset servicing and head of digital , speaks to Global Custodian about its transformational roadmap .

BNY Mellon has kicked off the year with a flurry of ground-breaking announcements , including a new frontto-back alliance with Amundi ALTO , an expansion of its partnership with Black- Rock Aladdin , and the launch of a new Digital Assets unit that will prototype a new custody solution . These developments build on a number of new changes the world ’ s largest custodian introduced last year , as it looks transform its service model for clients . BNY Mellon ’ s CEO of asset servicing and head of digital , Roman Regelman , speaks to Global Custodian about its transformational roadmap and how its latest announcements will guide its approach for the rest of the year .

GC : There have been several big announcements from BNY Mellon in recent months . Would you say 2021 is going to be a transformational year both for BNY Mellon and the wider asset servicing industry ? Roman Regelman : The short answer is yes . Following the 10 years after the financial crisis , we now have very different forces in play with new emerging asset classes , a different investment environment , FinTechs playing an increasing role , and we have different leaders in the industry looking at digitising securities services . The combination of all these factors is driving the industry to a very different place that is more digital and data-based , focusing on client experience and scale . It will probably take the next three years to get there , but we are executing on a transformational roadmap where the pieces are beginning to fall into place . It is a race to be the highest scale provider with the best client experience .
GC : Starting with the announcement of the new Digital Assets unit , would you say there is a first-mover advantage in this space ? RR : We see digital assets becoming part of the mainstream , and there is no doubt that they will be a major theme going forward within financial services . We see asset servicing being a client-led industry , and to be a leader , you need to service all assets . Then it ’ s a question whether you want it to service it in a
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