For custodians, as for their clients, life is getting harder. In last year’s R&M global custody survey, only three banks were marked down by clients for service quality. This year, only three have improved in the eyes of their clients. While no single survey can accurately reflect the state of any industry, the rash of minus signs on the overall global client service rankings will give custodians a wake-up call.

They may all be competitors but, in reaction to the results of this year’s R&M survey, custody banks are all singing from the same hymn sheet. Top of that piece of paper is the word “complexity”. Kate Homewood, head of client services in the UK at RBC Dexia, said: “I do not think that there has ever been a more challenging time for the securities services industry. As clients move into more complex products such as alternatives, they want us to provide solutions to help them achieve their goals, and they want us to provide them faster than before.”