JPMorgan picks HSBC, StanChart to run $500 bln custody business in Hong Kong, Taiwan

By Selena Li

HONG KONG, March 1 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase has selected HSBC and Standard Chartered to operate its custody businesses in Hong Kong and Taiwan, with assets worth more than $500 billion, a spokesperson for the U.S. bank said.

Reuters reported in December JPMorgan, the world's third-largest global custodian, was set to outsource the operations of its local custody business in Hong Kong and Taiwan with Citigroup, HSBC and StanChart in the race for the mandate.

The Wall Street bank has decided to outsource its local custodian in Hong Kong to HSBC and Taiwan to StanChart , the spokesperson said. Financial details of the deal were not immediately known.

Totalled assets under custody across the two North Asia markets stood at around $520 billon in December, Reuters reported at that time, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.

JPMorgan is aiming to complete the transition to the two banks before the end of this year, according to two separate sources with knowledge of the matter, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Fiona Horsewill, global head of Securities Services at HSBC, said the bank looked forward to being appointed by JPMorgan in its home market of Hong Kong and further deepening its relationship in this space.

Margaret Harwood-Jones, global head of Financing and Securities Services at StanChart, said the bank is thrilled to extend its relationship with JPMorgan through this appointment in an important Asian market.

The appointment by JPMorgan was first reported by Global Custodian on Wednesday.

Asset custodians hold investors' securities for safekeeping to prevent them from being lost. They also manage transactions, and settlements to ensure client accounts' compliance with tax and other regulations.

JPMorgan provides both global and local custodian services for clients in Hong Kong and Taiwan but has decided to withdraw from the local level as the cost-income ratio has gone up amid a decline in assets, two sources said in December.

The bank in 2020 ceased to offer local custody services for external clients in Australia while maintaining one of the largest global custodian operations in the market.

(Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Stephen Coates)