NAB and BNY Mellon launch new products

National Australia Bank’s (NAB’s) Asset Servicing division has announced it will team up with New York-based BNY Mellon to launch a new series of products.

It will start by introducing private equity administration and middle office services for its superannuation and fund manager customers.

The aim, according to the executive general manager of NAB Asset Servicing, Leigh Watson, is to give NAB customers access to “global product and capability [with a] strong local presence”.

“As custody, fund administration and middle office services naturally complement each other we believe this initiative will enable us to work with our customers to provide more efficient and integrated processing and risk management,” he said.

Watson said the agreement with BNY Mellon came from the need to develop competitive products that could support unlisted assets such as private equity — especially now that levels of unlisted assets have been boosted due to the Cooper Review recommendation to increase the Superannuation Guarantee from 9 to 12 per cent.

BNY Mellon Asset Servicing’s head of Asia, Chong Jin Leow, said that transparency and risk management were at the top of the agenda for Australian financial institutions.

“This is fuelling demand for middle office-related services, such as sophisticated reporting, risk analyses and monitoring solutions, which enhance transparency and mitigate operational risk,” he said.