If the word commitment is never far from anyone's lips when the conversation turns to the future of global custody, you can bet your bottom dollar that its evil twin in the securities services lexicon - disintermediation - will also rear its ugly head. No surprise, then, that the recent unveiling of Equilend, a standards-based, utility-style lending platform proposed by a consortium of 10 leading securities players, had the prophets of doom once again predicting an end to custodians' long-established role as lending agents.

Set for launch next year, Equilend promises to increase efficiency and reduce costs and risks by streamlining and automating transactions between borrowing and lending institutions, and by introducing a set of common protocols. It will encompass the entire securities lending process from pre-trade through execution, and beyond, and is anticipated to include auction-type mechanisms within its front-end functionality.