Asset Servicing Working Group
Purpose
The Asset Services Working Group (WG)’s purpose is to research the key challenges and issues that continue to impact the Asset Servicing area with the aim of providing best practice guidance for existing services as well as proposing alternative business models. Through these improvements and fundamental change propositions, the WG can assist the Securities Services industry in adopting more accurate, efficient and cost-effective asset servicing arrangements.
Scope
In scope topics for 2026 include:
- Monitoring industry developments around the recommendations on “At Source” announcements made in the WG’s 2025 white paper entitled: “A Call for Collaboration to Enhance Efficiency in Corporate Actions and Proxy Processes”
- Improving industry processes in class actions
Other potential topics may include:
- The use of SMART Contracts for corporate actions on digital securities
- Data management and data models for corporate actions
The WG participants will decide how many of these topics to pursue at any time.
Key Deliverables
Key 2026 deliverables will be:
- Follow-up report on industry plans for implementing “At Source” announcement solutions in collaboration with Issuers and their Agents
- Report on the pain points for Securities Services in processing Class Actions along with recommendations for automation, standardization and harmonization to reduce costs, reduce risks and increase speed and accuracy
Key Outcomes
Key outcomes will include:
- Adoption of plans by major market centres to implement automated “At Source” announcements solutions following the recommendations contained in the WG’s 2025 White Paper
- Education of the membership on the current operational processes for class actions and how the Securities Services industry could benefit from change
Publications
- Asset Services Working Group White Paper -> PDF
- Asset Servicing in 2025 Key Findings ->link
- Asset Servicing Automation Survey (07/2025) >link
- Asset Servicing Innovation – The Value Exchange announcement > link
- Asset Servicing Automation – Key Survey Findings > link
- Corporate Actions – Data Sourcing Videos
- Asset Servicing – Data Sourcing: The Case for a Standardized, Automated Single Source Model > PDF 881 kB
- Corporate Governance Survey 2023
- Podcast on Shaping the Target Operating Model for Corporate Actions
- Identifying the Key Challenges and Potential Solutions to Withholding Tax Relief and Recovery Processes (07/2022) > PDF 405 kB
- Reimagining the Corporate Actions Operating Model Survey Key Findings > link
- Corporate Actions 2021: Podcast on the Key Survey Findings (10/2021) > link
- Corporate Actions 2021: Key Survey Findings (08/2021) > PDF 1401 kB
- Report on Current Practices for Beneficial Owner Disclosure (07/2020) > PDF 580 kB
- Digitization at Source of Corporate Action event data (12/2015) > PDF 918 kB
- Progress report on the implementation of ISSA’s Global Principles for Corporate Actions and Proxy Voting (09/2013) > PDF 391 kB
- Final Report on Global Principles for Corporate Actions Processing and Proxy Voting (06/2012) > PDF 797 kB
- Annex to the Final Report (05/2010) > PDF 344 kB
- Overview on Global Principles for Corporate Actions Processing and Proxy Voting (06/2012) > PDF 104 kB
- Issuer Outreach 2012 (06/2012) > PDF 182 kB
- Market Survey Reports of Interim Report on Corporate Actions (05/2010):
Working Group Co-Chairs
- Anne Marie Bria, DTCC
- Charu Kirti Jain, S&P Global
- Michael McPolin, Broadridge Financial Solutions Ltd
Executive Sponsor
- Mike Sleightholme, Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc.
Institutions Represented by Experts in the Working Group
- ABN AMRO
- Australian Custodial Services Association
- Australian Securities Exchange ASX
- B3 Brazilian Exchange and OTC
- Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA)
- Banque Lombard Odier & Cie SA
- BNP Paribas
- BNY
- Broadridge Financial Solutions
- Central Securities Depository Joint-Stock Company Kazakhstan
- Chongwa (Macao) Financial Asset Exchange CO., Ltd.
- Citi
- CMA Small Systems AB
- Datos Insights
- DBS Bank
- Deutsche Bank AG
- Deutsche Börse Group
- Euroclear
- Fidelity Management and Research LLC
- Financial Recovery Technologies
- FIS
- FMDQ Group PLC
- GlobeTax Services
- Grupo Bolsa Mexicana de Valores
- Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited
- Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A.
- JP Morgan Chase & Co.
- Montran
- Nasdaq Inc.
- New Zealand Clearing and Depository Corporation Limited
- Northern Trust Corporation
- NSDL Group
- Proxymity
- Rand Merchant Bank – Custody Services
- S&P Global
- SIX Group AG
- Société Générale S.A.
- Standard Chartered Bank
- SWIFT SCRL
- Tata Group
- The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation
- The Value Exchange
- TMX Group Limited
- U.S. Bank, N.A.
- Unicredit S.p.A.
- x-markets GmbH & Co. KG