Custody of customer assets
Custody of customer assets in Financial & Capital Markets sits under active scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the European Securities and Markets Authority, each operating overlapping but distinct frameworks for how firms hold, segregate, and account for client property. The SEC's 2023 amendments to the Investment Advisers Act custody rule expanded covered assets to include crypto and broadened the definition of qualified custodians, forcing compliance teams to re-examine custodial arrangements they had not revisited in years. The pressure is structural, not cyclical.
Watch
- SEC Safeguarding Rule (proposed 2023): final action timeline still open
- ESMA's AIFMD II custodian liability provisions took effect January 2024
- CFTC enforcement pattern: FCM segregation shortfalls drawing larger civil penalties
- Sub-custodian due diligence documentation requirements differ across SEC, CFTC, and FCA regimes
- State-level crypto custody licensing: New York and Wyoming frameworks diverge materially
Recent material activity in Financial & Capital Markets
Active monitoring in place across Financial & Capital Markets. Material developments related to custody of customer assets will appear here as they are published.