The pandemic has brought to the fore the creativity and innovative capabilities of asset servicing professionals as they sought to continue operating and providing services to their clients in a very volatile and difficult environment. Indeed, The Asset editorial board saw a record number of mandates and solutions that are worthy of recognition in the Asset Servicing Awards 2021.

One major trend that has emerged during the awards period is the collaboration and partnership between the major custodian banks and asset service providers as they seek to produce new solutions to address client requirements. Although collaborations and partnerships are not new in this space, this time it’s happening in a more massive scale and with some sense of urgency.

Another major trend is the utilization of technology and digital services in almost all aspects of asset servicing. This is largely in response to the lockdowns and work-from-home arrangements brought about by Covid-19.

A third important trend is how changing client requirements is pushing asset service providers to incorporate sustainability as well as environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into their mandates.

Compared to previous years, the best mandates and solutions recognized for the year covered more areas, including asset servicing, subcustody, domestic custody, technology in forex services, securities lending, corporate trust, digital custody, fund administration, and tri-party collateral management.

Although most of the mandates that received recognition this year came in the form of submissions from the asset service providers, some came from clients in the form of client testimonies.

In any case, all the winning mandates reflect the passion and creativity of the people who worked on them: their technical knowledge, ability to implement solutions that have the flexibility to support complex and demanding client requirements, as well as the focus and commitment needed to produce these mandates and solutions.

It is in this context that The Asset announces the winners of the Mandates and Solutions Awards 2021.

For a full list of winners, please click here.