Mr Braga will succeed incumbent ACSA Chair Pierre Jond of BNP Paribas, who is returning to France to take up a new role within the French bank.

“On behalf of ACSA I would like to thank Pierre Jond for his involvement in the association and for his strong leadership as Chair,” Mr Braga said.

“Over the past two years, Pierre has broadened the role of ACSA as a representative body for custodians and strengthened our position within the broader financial services sector.”

Mr Braga has been an active participant in ACSA and has been a member of the Association’s executive committee since 2011. For the past year he has been executive sponsor of the Association’s regulatory & compliance working group and its Stronger Super Taskforce, representing the views of the custody industry to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) and policymakers in relation to the vast array of legislative change impacting custodians and their clients. Prior to this, Mr Braga was executive sponsor of ACSA’s communication working group.

“I am delighted to be elected as Chair of ACSA and it is an honour to take on this role. I look forward to representing the interests of the custody and investment administration industries and furthering our common goal: to ensure that Australia has an efficient, world-renowned financial market,” Mr Braga said.

“Custodians play an important role across the financial sector providing a strong foundation for superannuation funds and asset managers. As the voice of the custodian, ACSA will continue to work with industry partners during this period of unprecedented change to provide clear guidelines on what standards custodians will be held to as we plan for the future.”

Christine Bartlett, Executive General Manager, Asset Servicing at National Australia Bank has been elected ACSA Deputy Chair. She takes over from Paul Khoury of State Street who has stepped down from the role following two years as Deputy Chair and five years as an ACSA Executive.

Australia has a sophisticated and competitive custodian market with latest ACSA research showing total assets under custody for Australian investors grew by 6.7% to $2.16 trillion to 30 June 2013.

ACSA is the peak representative body for custodians and features seven working groups – with over 100 representatives of member organisations – working with government, regulators and other industry participants on issues related to custody and outsourcing.

Changes in regulation and market practice continue to place demands on custodians to ensure they provide effective solutions for clients – typically large superannuation funds, investment managers, as well as overseas investors and brokers.

Recent activity has included consultation with APRA on the implementation of MySuper; close negotiation with ASIC on the implications of RG 133; and working with the ASX on solutions to clearing and settlement processes.

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The appointments of Latiff and Wong will further strengthen J.P. Morgan’s Southeast Asia capabilities, a region which is continuing to emerge as an operational hub for large global multinational corporations (MNCs) expanding their presence in the region and for large domestic companies in Asia seeking to tap new markets to leverage the region’s growth prospects.

As Head of Treasury Services, ASEAN, Latiff will be responsible for enhancing J.P. Morgan’s end-to-end client service experience, supporting regional and domestic product and sales initiatives and guiding the firm’s broader growth strategy across a number of markets, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan. Reporting to Tom DuCharme, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific for J.P. Morgan Treasury & Securities Services, Latiff will also support the continued build out of the firm’s Global Corporate Bank (“GCB”). An industry veteran with more than 17 years’ experience, Latiff has spent the last seven years at J.P. Morgan in a variety of corporate and financial institution segment roles across product and sales functions. He will be based in Singapore.

In Wong’s capacity as Head of Treasury Services, Malaysia, an important growth market for J.P. Morgan’s clients, she will oversee the development of J.P. Morgan Chase Bank Berhad’s operations. Reporting to Latiff, she brings more than 15 years’ experience to the role.  Most recently with Citi Malaysia, Wong has worked across a wide range of transaction banking functions, including cash management, treasury and trade solutions and credit analysis, in addition to a number of sales, product and relationship management roles.

In Australia, Schiavon will be responsible for leading the firm’s business across Australia and New Zealand as Head of Treasury Services. Reporting to DuCharme, she will also work closely with the GCB, Investment Bank and Worldwide Securities Services to further leverage the strong relationships the firm holds with corporates, banks and non-bank financial institutions. She joins from Citi Australia where she held a number of senior roles across finance, operations, technology, implementation and client services.

“These appointments mark an important phase in J.P. Morgan’s aggressive international growth agenda. By further aligning our global and regional capabilities with a more sharply focused domestic market presence across Asia Pacific, we can enhance the range of services we offer to our cross-border clients as they continue to identify growth opportunities and execute their expansion plans,” said DuCharme. 

Earlier this year, J.P. Morgan announced several new TS roles in Asia Pacific. At a regional level, Margaret Yao was named Regional Sales Executive, TS; Hendra Lembong Head of Cash Management, TS, covering core cash and liquidity management, and Adrian Godfrey as Head of Client Service, TS, in addition to a number of country level appointments in Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The new regional management team reflects J.P. Morgan’s ongoing commitment to building a leading client service operation that leverages a strong in-country offering with the firm’s global solutions and network. This year, J.P. Morgan Treasury & Securities Services, which comprises both the TS and Worldwide Securities Services businesses, has grown its headcount by approximately 350 financial professionals across Asia Pacific, as it continues to enhance its range of market leading products and elevate its client servicing capabilities.

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Mr Cowan’s financial services experience spans more than 20 years, the last 10 of which have been with J.P. Morgan in a variety of securities servicing roles. Mr. Cowan’s expanded FMP role now includes oversight of the firm’s clearance and collateral management, transition management and foreign exchange solutions.

Jane Perry, CEO of J.P. Morgan Treasury & Securities Services, Australia and New Zealand, said Mr Cowan has a proven track record in delivering results and his expertise in financing and market products provides a significant competitive advantage in key local markets.

“Stewart brings to the table significant experience, deep product knowledge and an unrivalled ability to navigate risk on behalf of our clients at all levels. He will continue to lead our securities lending operation but will expand his responsibilities to cover the full FMP suite of clearance, securities and derivatives collateral management, transition management, foreign exchange and passive currency overlay. In a sophisticated domestic market which relies heavily on financing and market products to manage risk, reduce cost and generate returns, Stewart will be instrumental in further enhancing our local and Asia Pacific clients’ businesses while at the same time driving J.P. Morgan’s success across these key markets,” Ms. Perry said.

Notably, Mr Cowan’s experience in Asia will be critical in capturing new opportunities in Japan, a quickly growing market for FMP solutions that is home to a large, sophisticated pool of potential clients.

Paul Wilson, International Head of Client Management & Sales for Financing and Market Products, said: “Japan is a market in which we see tremendous opportunity. While Japan has a sophisticated client landscape, many of these players have not traditionally sought to access the full array of FMP solutions. However, given the significant risk and cost benefits that our suite of FMP solutions can deliver, we’re seeing an increase in demand especially with respect to collateral management and securities lending. As such, we are ideally placed to work even closer with our Japanese clients and the Japanese market to deliver leading edge solutions that create real and measurable results for their business.”

Joining the enhanced financing and market products team will be Michael Wynn, who returns home to Australia to lead transition management sales after several years with   J.P. Morgan based in the United Kingdom. Mr Wynn’s most recent role was with the investment bank, where he managed the passive currency overlay execution desk.

“We are lucky to have someone with Michael’s expertise return to Australia to service our clients’ needs. With a proven track record across different areas of the business, he will be a valuable addition to the team,” concluded Ms Perry.

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City Super, the superannuation fund for current and former employees of Brisbane City Council, has appointed J.P. Morgan Treasury & Securities Services (TSS) as custodian and administration provider.

Bryan Gray, Head of Treasury & Securities Services Sales and Client Management said the new $1.5 billion mandate further strengthened J.P. Morgan’s position in the investment and administration sector.

“Although custody and administration is increasingly becoming a scale driven business, clients are continually seeking tailored solutions. As a provider, we are constantly looking for ways to meet these needs and believe this was a determining factor in winning the mandate,” he said.

City Super has already announced it will merge with an existing client of J.P. Morgan, Local Government Super (LG Super), on 30 June 2011 and therefore will require an investment administration provider with a strong transition management offering. J.P. Morgan was able to demonstrate its substantial experience in executing large scale transition management projects, including those driven by fund mergers or by major changes to a fund’s asset allocations.

Our previous experience with fund mergers definitely worked in our favour, as we could show real world examples of our discipline in this area. With industry consolidation expected to continue, J.P. Morgan’s fund merger experience will continue to position us as a leading service provider,” Mr Gray said.

Once the two funds are merged, J.P. Morgan will also look at ways of optimising the custody and administration process.

“We are currently in discussions with LG Super and City Super to find ways to optimise the custody and administration offering. We are committed to ensuring our services are the best possible fit for the new fund including providing tax propagation, currency overlay and securities lending services,” he said.

The mandate win reinforces J.P. Morgan Treasury & Security Services’ commitment to the Australian & New Zealand market after hiring more than 100 additional employees during 2010, many in senior positions. The hires were not only in line with increased growth expectations but also to better service existing clients.

“Our prospects in 2011 are strong and we have the right team in place to continue the growth we have seen locally and in Asia Pacific. We will continue to develop strong partnerships, elevate our client service offering and enhance our range of market leading products,” Mr Gray concluded.

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J.P. Morgan today announced it is the only tri-party collateral manager to accept physical gold as collateral to satisfy securities lending and repo obligations with counterparties. This comes as more clients look to use gold as a hedge against inflation and to post as collateral. 

“The ability to finance and leverage the broadest range of asset classes is important to our clients. Many clients are holding gold on their balance sheets as an inflation hedge and are looking to make these assets work for them as collateral,” said John Rivett, Collateral Management Executive, J.P. Morgan Worldwide Securities Services. “By combining our collateral management and vaulting capabilities, we provide clients with greater flexibility in how they mobilise collateral.”

The automated use of gold in collateral management is introduced under J.P. Morgan’s Worldwide Securities Services global collateral engine initiative.  This initiative enables clients to mobilize collateral inventories across multiple geographies and trading activities, regardless of the underlying obligation, to extract maximum value and manage risk.

The firm expects to accept additional precious metals and commodities as collateral later in the year.

J.P. Morgan Worldwide Securities Services Australia is in discussions with clients on how the product might be evolved to suit local investor demand and needs.

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In a Tri-Securities lending arrangement, the lender is able to take a blended portfolio of securities as collateral in a highly automated and risk mitigated environment. The innovative structure allows loans to be fully collateralised to lender specification and then held for safekeeping by the collateral agent. Daily reports are provided on the market value and the adequacy of the collateral against previously agreed limits, providing greater security than traditional bilateral agreements.

“We are thrilled to be involved in another industry first,” said Jane Perry, Chief Executive Officer for Treasury & Securities Services Australia and New Zealand. “J.P. Morgan’s Tri-Party Securities Collateral Management service provides the market with an innovative, sophisticated platform built for Australian and New Zealand institutional requirements,” she said.

J.P. Morgan’s Tri-Party Securities Collateral Management service offers clients a sophisticated suite of tools to effectively manage exposures of most forms of secured lending, such as securities lending, repo and foreign exchange swaps, as well as other financial instrument exposures. The offering also provides distinct benefits by using local legal agreements, local service management expertise and on-the-ground support during the transaction.

Ms Perry said: “Tri-Party transactions across all forms of secured lending are common in North America, Europe and Asia and we believe our offering will assist Australian firms in efficiently collateralising exposures in line with overseas practice. We have taken our global expertise and world class collateral management platform and made it accessible for local institutional investors.

“Our unique technology combines sophisticated collateral testing and concentration controls with a proprietary algorithm that determines the optimal use of diverse collateral pools across a range of counterparty exposures. The result is that the needs of both sides of a transaction can be met within one secure, risk-managed process,” she said.

Organisations with large balance sheet exposures to securities and short supply of liquid cash are now able to use their securities more effectively through the Tri-Party structure. By using a third party as the collateral agent, Tri-Securities Lending can supplement the more traditional cashbased securities lending market.

“Where companies have long assets the ability to use securities through an independent collateral agent can ensure balance sheet assets are being used in a more effective manner,” said Greg Keyser Managing Director for Equity Finance at UBS Australia, “We believe Tri-party will entice many new domestic entrants into the secured finance market.”

“Receiving securities as collateral instead of cash is an important element of securities lending, and working with an independent third party to manage the collateral helps give us as a lending agent confidence that collateral and other risks are being managed appropriately,” said Francesco Squillacioti, Regional Director Asia Pacific for Securities Finance at State Street Bank and Trust.

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J.P. Morgan Treasury & Securities Services has today announced it has completed the successful migration of direct and master custody clients from ANZ Custodian Services. ANZ Custodian Services was acquired by J.P. Morgan in November 2009.

Completed on time, within one year of the acquisition, this migration has increased the assets held under custody by J.P. Morgan in Australia & New Zealand more than 20 per cent. With more than 150 ANZ Custodian Services staff in Melbourne and Wellington accepting roles with J.P. Morgan, the firm’s footprint has been dramatically increased in these two key financial services hubs.

Jane Perry, CEO of J.P. Morgan Treasury & Securities Services, Australia and New Zealand, said the strategic acquisition of the ANZ Custodian Services business builds on J.P. Morgan’s service offering as the only local firm to provide the full range of global, domestic, direct custody and fund administration services to local and international institutions and fund managers.

“As custody continues to move towards a scale-driven business model, we will continue to ensure that our clients benefit from our integrated solutions, our global platform, and our deep local expertise in the local market. We remain committed to enhancing our on-ground coverage in key Australasian financial centers such as Sydney, Melbourne and Wellington, and further broadening the wide range of innovative solutions available to our clients,” said Perry.

The completion of the ANZ project follows J.P. Morgan’s recent announcement of the expansion of its direct custody and clearing capabilities globally, with the first phase build-out of the offering covering Australia and New Zealand, Taiwan and India in Asia Pacific, along with the United States, United Kingdom and Russia. The firm already offers a globally integrated custody and clearance service backed by a unified technology platform to institutional investors in more than 100 markets.

“Direct custody is a natural extension of our existing business and is part of J.P. Morgan’s expansion plans globally. A direct custody service enables us to meet the needs of clients with cross-border investments in Australia and New Zealand, and to add new clients seeking local custody and clearing services and grow these relationships globally,” she added.

“The migration of ANZ’s Custodian Services clients, combined with our enhanced direct custody network, mark a milestone for the Treasury & Securities Services business in Australia & New Zealand. We are excited about the future opportunities in the direct custody and administration space and we look forward to better servicing the needs of our existing and future clients.”

The provision of direct custody in Australia & New Zealand is part of the Asia Pacific growth plan for the Treasury & Securities Services business, with the firm expanding its local on-ground presence, enhancing its range of market leading products and elevating its client servicing capabilities year-to-date, J.P. Morgan Treasury & Securities Services has hired an additional 500 financial professionals in Asia Pacific to broaden its regional coverage and further develop its partnership with clients. J.P. Morgan Treasury & Securities Services provides solutions to corporate and institutional clients across the region.

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