Global Custodian Winter 2018 | Page 77

[ S U R V E Y | A G E N T B A N K S I N E M E R G I N G M A R K E T S ] Poland BNP Paribas Securities Services The leading European custody network had to be in the biggest and most dynamic capital market in CEE and, since opening in Warsaw in 2008 with in-house clients only, BNP Paribas has built a strong following. No provider attracted more respondents in Poland this year, and their collective verdict is as close to perfection as makes no difference. In fact, it is actually an advance on the already flattering scores of a year ago. Raiffeisen Bank International RBI builds on its strong showing of a year ago, with a fine set of scores from a relatively small group of clients. With scores this good, searching for points of vulnerability becomes an exercise in gratuitousness, but even RBI is not totally immune to the client interest in cost saving and a wider range of choices in cash and FX. Citi Though a client has experienced “very good service,” and the scores recorded by Citi Warsaw are superior to those in most of the markets the bank serves, the averages do not keep up with the pace set by the other network providers here. However, Citi is not going anywhere: It is deeply entrenched in Poland not only through its 17-year-old merger with Bank Handlowy but through its operations and technology centres in Warsaw, Olsztyn and Lodz. Bank Pekao This is the second year in which Pekao has taken part in the sur- vey as an independent entity since UniCredit sold its stake in the bank. The averages conceal as much as they tell. Pekao is a bank that would like to be judged by the quality of its people and the re- lationships they forge – across all products, not just custody – and by that criterion at least it retains a claim on the loyalty of clients. ING Bank Śląski S.A Śląski was the operation that was excluded from the sale to Citi of the ING sub-custody network in CEE in 2013, and the clients that it services here continue to like what they get. The outcome is not as good as it was in 2017, but the only scintilla of doubt in a reassuringly high and consistent set of scores is whether the bank will stay in the business. Others As befits the largest market in the region, investors are not short of choice in Poland. PKO Bank Polski attracted responses, which between them suggest that, fees and spreads apart, it delivers a good service. Santander Securities Services also looks after clients in the Polish market, and the data received suggests they are extremely happy. Deutsche Bank Warsaw has not appeared in this survey for a while, but it continues to provide a service, though the responses received point to a limited range of servic- es. Société Générale Securities Services offers a full service in Warsaw, but did not get enough responses to be rated. WEIGHTED AVERAGE SCORES BNP Paribas Raiffeisen Bank ING Bank Slaski Citi Bank Pekao Société Générale Share of validated responses (%) 27% 16% 11% 13% 16% 7% Relationship management 6.69 6.40 5.81 4.76 4.82 n/a Market Average Global Average 5.71 5.30 Client service 6.82 6.67 5.67 5.20 4.30 n/a 5.74 5.56 Account management 5.85 6.72 5.81 4.66 4.29 n/a 5.42 5.14 Asset safety 6.00 6.00 5.25 5.00 3.25 n/a 5.08 4.60 Risk management 6.41 6.59 6.00 4.91 5.11 n/a 5.82 5.50 Liquidity management 6.57 6.50 5.83 5.12 4.92 n/a 5.85 5.14 Regulation and compliance 6.60 6.50 5.09 5.00 4.60 n/a 5.43 4.84 Innovation 6.49 5.64 5.73 4.47 4.00 n/a 5.43 4.75 Asset servicing 6.85 6.61 5.94 5.05 4.83 n/a 5.74 5.52 Pricing 6.36 6.27 5.72 5.09 4.45 n/a 5.72 5.28 Technology 6.77 6.59 5.59 5.32 5.12 n/a 5.85 5.41 Cash management and FX 6.52 6.29 5.62 5.12 4.39 n/a 5.47 5.42 Total 6.47 6.39 5.69 4.95 4.50 n/a 5.62 5.23 Winter 2018 globalcustodian.com 77